<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Concord Dawn Bed &amp; Breakfast by ironhoshi</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632072">Concord Dawn Bed &amp; Breakfast</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironhoshi/pseuds/ironhoshi'>ironhoshi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anakin gonna cause chaos, Feemor - Freeform, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, M/M, Mentioned Asajj Ventress - Freeform, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a Mess, Obi-Wan just wanted to be a teacher, Quinlan Vos is a Ghost TV host, Star Wars AU involving ghosts, Star Wars References, Swear words a plenty, The B&amp;B is haunted, Time to buckle in for my Hallmark movie style nonsense, Why did anyone let me write this?, annoyance to lovers, how many tropes can I hit?, mentions of Qui-Gon Jinn - Freeform, this is my guilty pleasure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:42:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironhoshi/pseuds/ironhoshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There were little things at first that caused the hair on the back of Obi-Wan's neck to stand on end the first few weeks. It was the way cupboards seemed to open during the night in their area or how he found his toiletries all over the bathroom floor on several occasions. Sometimes he thought he heard knocking from other parts of the house, but that could easily be explained away by far too little sleep and copious amounts of coffee. Hallucinations were a symptom of him failing to take care of himself properly. He knew it wasn't Anakin creating the chaos- at least he hoped his brother wasn't getting up at strange hours of the night to mess with him. His brother may still hold a grudge about the fact Obi-Wan left for college, but he figured any revenge for that would be far more creative. </p><p>---</p><p>A modern AU.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Obi-Wan Kenobi/Quinlan Vos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>208</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>243</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>...I don't know what came over me.<br/>Obi-Wan is 24 and Anakin is 14, just for reference. </p><p>I'll add more tags when I get home, ao3 is being really weird about letting me tag from my phone T_T</p><p>Anyway, please enjoy what I call my Hallmark movie of a fic.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i>The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies.</i><br/>
-Neil Gaiman</p>
</div><p> </p><p>☆☆☆</p><p> </p><p>The last moving box was dropped rather unceremoniously in the middle of the bedroom. <i>Finally</i>. "You know," Obi-Wan drawled out with a mild look of annoyance on his face. "It wouldn't have killed you to help out just a little." His younger brother merely raised a dark black fiberglass casted arm as the only sign he had heard. He had the unkind thought that Anakin was milking the injury for all it was worth, but that thought was quickly followed by the one that the barely a teenager deserved the right to do so. Neither of them had thought that they'd be in this situation and their father had to be laughing in the afterlife. </p><p>Obi-Wan had been working hard at becoming a teacher, with the goal of starting out as an associate professor in History or Literature; and then the accident happened. The second he had received the call from a shocked Anakin he had dropped everything and came back to the town he had once tried to escape. He was positive he still had to deal with breaking a lease on student housing and somehow get the last of his things, but it could wait a bit. Actually, maybe he could get the lawyers to deal with that- a minor abuse of them probably, but he already had so much on his plate. The damn will gave him more than enough money to raise his brother,  but the stipulation of moving into the Bed and Breakfast as the new Innkeeper was one that still rubbed him wrong. Even passed away, his father was still controlling his life. He could, potentially; just let the business go under and not hurt financially, but he knew he would never do something like that. His father loved this place for some reason, tarnishing this place would just be wrong. </p><p>He needed a drink or twenty. Garen, Bant, and Siri would be thrilled to go out for drinks with him and catch up, but he couldn't just leave Anakin alone.</p><p>"Would you at least turn down the volume of that infernal show? I honestly don't know how you can watch such garbage," he snapped before he could stop himself. Anakin froze before tilting his head back to level a glare at him. </p><p>"It figures you finally come back and go straight into bossing me around," the boy snapped right back. Old habits died rather hard it seemed. Obi-wan reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he silently counted to ten in his head. They were both hurting and he certainly didn't need to make things worse. They had yet to talk about things and Anakin had simply hugged him painfully tight when he first came home.</p><p>They were both hurting and unable to talk about their feelings. </p><p>"Ani," he tried in a softer voice, but his brother was already moving. He barely stepped out of the way as the pint sized fury bolted out of the room. "Anakin," he called while he turned to chase after him. "I'm sor-" Suddenly the room was eerily silent as the television just died. He wasn't sure why, but that caused goosebumps to erupt across his arms. Obi-Wan glanced over his shoulder at the television with pursed lips. Well, that certainly couldn't be good. How much would it cost to get all the wiring looked at? Had Qui-Gon even kept this place up to code? </p><p>"Damn it."</p><p>Make that fifty drinks. He pulled his phone out to text Garen and see if his friend could come over. Drinking alone was just too depressing at this point. The immediate string of emojis via text he got in response made him second guess his decision.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>There were little things at first that caused the hair on the back of Obi-Wan's neck to stand on end the first few weeks. It was the way cupboards seemed to open during the night in their area or how he found his toiletries all over the bathroom floor on several occasions. Sometimes he thought he heard knocking from other parts of the house, but that could easily be explained away by far too little sleep and copious amounts of coffee. Hallucinations were a symptom of him failing to take care of himself properly. He knew it wasn't Anakin creating the chaos- at least he hoped his brother wasn't getting up at strange hours of the night to mess with him. His brother may still hold a grudge about the fact Obi-Wan left for college, but he figured any revenge for that would be far more creative. He may have let his brother pass out on the end of his bed one night while watching one of his stupid reality shows and did nothing to move him. That night the chairs in their kitchenette mysteriously found themselves turned upside down, but Ani hadn't moved once from the foot of Obi-Wan's bed. Obi-Wan had stayed up all night reading. If Ani spent more nights passed out on Obes' bed instead of his own after that incident, well, neither of them were going to point that particular fact out.<p>The chairs ushered in a change and things were starting to go from mild inconveniences to a tad startling. Through it all? Anakin kept insisting they were haunted as if it was the greatest thing ever. He kept trying to get Obi-Wan to watch some silly ghost hunting show. He wasn't sure how many times he could say no thanks before it clicked with his brother. He didn't have the time while trying to figure out the messy books their father had kept regarding the business. That and ghost shows made him think of someone he would rather not think about. Ghosts also weren't real, despite what he used to think as a child. There had been plenty of times where he had cried at the shadows as a toddler and Qui-Gon had comforted him. If he still despised going into the basement it was merely because it was cramped and smelled musty, it certainly had nothing to do with the fact he had once thought it haunted. He had grown out of that, realized it was nonsense, and moved on with his life. Now though? He was starting to think something was honestly wrong with the bed and breakfast. They hadn't exactly had guests yet, but he couldn't recall a time when this place had ever been busy. </p><p>Why had their father kept this place?</p><p>"Anakin," he yelled up the stairs for what felt like the fifth time. "If you don't hurry your slow ass up I am going to let you walk to school." </p><p>"Language," came the smartass response as his brother ran down the stairs doing a remarkable job of sounding like a herd of baby elephants. Yes, it was probably a good thing they didn't currently have guests. He sighed as he simply held out a travel mug of coffee to his brother. "You just want to flirt with Ms. Kryze again when you drop me off, Obes."</p><p>Obi-Wan leveled a glare at his brother before simply pointing at the door. Anakin burst out laughing, far too jovial for the unholy hour, and ran out of the building towards the car. Satine Kryze, while pleasant, wasn't exactly his type and he couldn't fathom why Ani kept pushing that idea. She had tried to get his attention back in highschool, before she graduated, and he had been civil. All these years later it seemed she might still have that crush judging from how she seemed to be there every morning when he dropped his brother off. He grumbled faintly to himself while leaving the house and made his way over to the driver's side of the car. He yanked the door open just before he felt like someone was watching him. He paused and glanced up towards the attic window. The rather outdated lace curtain seemed to be fluttering in a faint breeze. He rationalized it by thinking the roof needed repairs. Yes, the building was just old. Things happened. He needed to call a building inspector just to see how much he was going to have to dump into this place repair wise.</p><p>"I sent a message to the official Ghost Sensors Twitter," Anakin dropped on him while he snapped his seatbelt into place. His hand paused on the buckle as his brain tried to decipher the statement. Ghost Sensors sounded vaguely familiar for some reason and that left him feeling more on edge.</p><p>"Pardon? You did what?" It was like his brother took relish in catching him off guard, a skill he had picked up from Qui-Gon. Their father had always enjoyed springing news on him at the most inopportune moments, devious man that one had been. Everyone thought Qui-Gon had been so laid back, but he knew better. </p><p>"Come on, Obes, this place is totally haunted. Don't you remember being afraid to go into the basement when you were younger? Dad said-" Obi-Wan's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel as he backed out of their small driveway. Dad had said a lot of things, he bit the words back before they could escape his mouth. Ani seemed to sense his mood and jumped ahead in his planned conversation. "They are interested! I mean in visiting us, do a whole investigation-"</p><p>"Anakin, you didn't," he groaned out and resisted the strong urge to slam his forehead against the steering wheel. Why were they having this conversation? Why was there even a need for this conversation?</p><p>"The main guy was totally nice. He had a lot of questions, we messaged back and forth for hours and he said-"</p><p>"Is that why you were up so late? You shouldn't talk to strange people on the internet…He could be some creeper, Ani!"</p><p>"He isn't strange. He is the lead investigator! Listen, Obes, they'll do it for free, but we just have to let them stay for free-"</p><p>"Do what now?" There was this headache growing behind his eyes, and its name was Anakin. </p><p>"Investigate! Think of the publicity the place will get. You've been here for like two weeks and haven't had a single guest. People love haunted shit and will pay extra for the experience!"</p><p>"Language. Ani, and I have been back nearly a month, thank you for noticing, and we aren't doing this, the house is hardly haunte-" his words were interrupted because his phone decided to start ringing at that exact moment. He cast a glance at Anakin and just knew from the sheepish look that his little brother had given his cellphone number out to some stranger on the internet. Damn it. He slammed his thumb on the connect button, fully intent on telling the person to politely fuck off, and was caught off guard by the greeting. </p><p>"Hey sexy," Quinlan's sultry voice filled the car and Obi-Wan may have hit the breaks a tad hard. Anakin yelped as he was flung forward a bit before the seatbelt kicked in. Oh, yes, definitely a creeper. That voice still had a way of messing with his head and he a tad miffed with himself that he still recognized it after all these years.</p><p>"Vos, how the fuck did you get my number," he snapped. Laughter invaded the space and he regretted answering the call. </p><p>"Aw, you remember me! Your little brother gave it to me. Don't be that way Kenobi, it took hours of asking him questions to realize it was you," the man on the phone practically purred and Anakin's eyes grew wide. "You didn't even leave a number when you slipped out-"</p><p>"My brother is in the car," he blurted out and just knew his face was going through ten different shades of red. This was not a conversation he wanted to have in front of his brother. Kriff, kriff, <i>kriff</i>. "And that was years ago!" Of all the one night stands when he first escaped this town he honestly hadn't thought this one would swing back to haunt him.

</p><p>"Well, this is awkward," Quinlan snickered and Obi-Wan almost wished he was there so he could punch him in his annoyingly attractive face. "Look, I hear you have a haunted inn-"</p><p>"Bed and breakfast," Anakin and Obi-Wan interrupted at the exact same time.</p><p>"-creepy. Anyway, I have a show. You have the haunt. It would be great publicity for both of us, Kenobi. Also, who actually gives their real name during a one night stand?" A series of swear words escaped him while Anakin stared at him with his mouth hanging open in pure surprise. He knew gears were turning inside his brother's head, and he was not looking forward to whatever nonsense spilled out of his agape mouth next.</p><p>"Oh my fucking God," Anakin practically yelled, Quinlan laughed over the bluetooth, "You actually got laid once?" He hated everything. </p><p>"We are dangerously off topic," he growled. "Quinlan, fuck off. Anakin watch your mouth. We aren't doing this, none of this is happening, lose my number!'</p><p>"Sorry, babe, we will be there in two days, Anakin set it all up."</p><p>"He did what?" </p><p>Anakin was a mixture of horrified and amazed in the passenger seat and had the nerve to not look the least bit sorry. "Is that why you change the topic whenever it seems like Ms. Kryze is about to ask you out? I seriously thought you just didn't like people!" This was so not a conversation he wanted to be having so early in the morning. </p><p>"Who is Ms. Kyrze," Quinlan inquired with far too much amusement in his voice.</p><p>"Not happening," Obi-Wan disconnected the call and promptly rejected the ten call backs that came immediately after. He was going to strangle Quinlan and Anakin. His brother was damn near vibrating in the passenger seat and he couldn't help sighing. He was trapped in a car with an annoying amount of questions waiting to be asked. </p><p>"You slept with Quinlan Vos," Anakin grinned hard as he began to fidget in his seat. "Obes, Obes, oh my God, no wonder he wants to do the investigation for free! I bet he totally wants to fu-" </p><p>"Anakin!"</p><p>"I'm just saying. You aren't ugly, I guess."</p><p>"How kind of you," Obi-Wan drawled out dryly as he pulled up in front of the school. Ms. Kryze was at the curb because, of course, she was. She was wearing a cute tea dress in a shade of blue that he had the unnerving feeling might match his eyes. Anakin rolled his window down instead of getting out of the car right away, which meant something was planned. He had a bad feeling about this.</p><p>"Hey, Ms. Kryze," Ani grinned as she smiled sweetly at them as she walked towards the car. "My brother has a boyfriend!" Her face fell as a look of confusion crossed her features. Obi-Wan merely let his head slam into the steering wheel several times as he reminded himself he was not going to bury his little brother in the creepy basement of their bed and breakfast. </p><p>"Get out of the car, Anakin, I need to go drive off a cliff now."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“I thought Ani was bullshiting when he said this guy was going to be here, impressive,” she said with a smirk and a glance at Quinlan. She was less prickly and more open around Quin and that was also not good. Siri was known to make customers cry, something Qui-Gon had always found amusing, and Obi-Wan didn’t care about. They barely had guests anyway, but now she was acting like she was a fan.</p><p>“Ah, well, Anakin decided it wise to message a complete stranger on the internet about our supposed problem-”</p><p>“Haunting.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Bum bum bummmmm! Another chapter.<br/>There is some feels, fair warning.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i>In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves.</i><br/>
-Laurie Halse Anderson</p>
  <p> </p>
  <p>☆☆☆</p>
</div>“Grandfather,” he breathed out with a hint of annoyance as he clutched his cellphone to his ear. His gaze was fixed on his laptop screen as he tried to sort through what the old man had actually said. What one heard and what was actually meant were usually two very different things.<p>“I am simply saying, dear one, that you can send Anakin to some boarding school, close that abhorrent place, and go back to school. I am well aware how much you wanted to be able to transfer overseas and, perhaps, become a professor.” Silence stretched for a moment as his fingers tightened on around the phone. The case creaked lightly and he eased his grip up just a tad, destroying the thing would upset his little brother. Yes, the case was glittery and said a few profanities in some impressive cursive, but he actually rather liked the stupid thing. Anakin had given it to him and he treasured the gift.</p><p>“I am not going to ship my brother off just so I can further my own future,” the words came out with a bit of sting behind them and he didn’t care. “I can always just enroll in online classes or the like here, even go to the college a few towns over. The commute is hardly bad-”</p><p>“Obi-Wan, you know you could be so much more than your brother’s keeper. You are destined for more. I think it would be best if you just-”</p><p>“No. I am not abandoning Anakin! We just lost our father a month ago, your son I might add, it is too soon. Look, I appreciate that you want what is best for me, but you should also want what is best for Ani.” He slammed his laptop shut before realizing he had failed to close any of his programs. He’d sort that out later, maybe, right now he wanted to find his brother and hug him until he complained loudly about him being strange again. </p><p>Anakin was starting to get sick of surprise hugs.</p><p>“Perhaps we should continue this talk another time, when we are both of better mind?”</p><p>Obi-Wan pursed his lips together before closing his eyes to block the oncoming headache. “Yes, Grandfather, I’ll call you next week?”</p><p>“That would be acceptable. Do try and get some rest, you sound simply exhausted.”</p><p>“...love you too-” And the line went dead. His hand shook slightly as he pulled the phone away from his ear. Anakin and Yan had never gotten along, even when Ani was just a toddler who charmed everyone. He honestly didn’t get it, but there was a lot about the old man he didn’t get. He reminded himself that his grandfather was also grieving, that he didn’t realize how painful those suggestions had been. How each word had been like a well placed papercut on his heart. He dropped his phone down on the desk and let out a string of swear words that would have left his late father proud. After a moment, he picked his phone up and shot a quick text message to Ani asking if he wanted pizza for dinner. The way his phone pinged quickly with a reply had him smiling softly. </p><p>It seemed that they were having pizza if the nonstop barge of pizza slice emojis was any sign.</p><p>He did his best to shove the phone call with his Grandfather into the corner of his mind where he kept the knowledge Quinlan Vos was still visiting, locked away and ignored safely, and pulled up the app for the local pizza place they both seemed to enjoy. He’d worry about everything tomorrow, maybe.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>“Siri,” he called out as he walked in through the back door. Obi-Wan had spent the morning digging through the shed out back, attempting to find a box of lightbulbs he had seen in there the other day. The light above the check in counter had this strange habit of going through bulbs quickly so he figured it would be best to keep a new box under the counter. “I found the box, but I think you need to remind me that I should buy in bulk next time.” He shook the box lightly and realized Siri wasn’t answering him. He blinked and finally glanced up from the lightbulbs in his hands, a huge mistake he quickly regretted because standing at the counter was one Quinlan Vos. The box slipped from his fingers before crashing to the ground way louder than he thought possible.<p>His brain was shattering, wait no- that was the lightbulbs. </p><p>Siri turned her flushed gaze towards him and Quinlan, well, Quinlan looked at him like he wanted to devour him whole. That was very much not good, not good at all.</p><p>“Hey you,” Quinlan’s voice carried promises and Obi-Wan threw a panicked look at Siri.</p><p>“I thought Ani was bullshiting when he said this guy was going to be here, impressive,” she said with a smirk and a glance at Quinlan. She was less prickly and more open around Quin and that was also not good. Siri was known to make customers cry, something Qui-Gon had always found amusing, and Obi-Wan didn’t care about. They barely had guests anyway, but now she was acting like she was a fan.</p><p>“Ah, well, Anakin decided it wise to message a complete stranger on the internet about our supposed problem-”</p><p>“Haunting.”</p><p>“Shut up, Quin. And as you can see, somehow he convinced this con artist to show up,” Obi-Wan finished as he crossed his arms over his chest. </p><p>“First off, I’m offended you called me a con artist, and second; when I figured out it was your place, I had to come,” Quinlan drawled out as he leaned against the front desk. There was a pleased look on his face while he didn’t even try to hide the once over he was giving Obi-Wan. Kriff, it was like he was undressing him with his eyes and he certainly felt his cheeks color at the look. Siri raised an eyebrow as she began to look between them. Oh dear, she wasn’t going to let this go, he just knew it. Sure enough, she was sliding her phone out and was clearly texting Garen. Damn it, he was going to get grilled later by his friends. </p><p>“I don’t see any crew,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “Con artist. If you aren’t paying then get out.”</p><p>Siri didn’t even hide the fact she was happily live texting the whole conversation. </p><p>“Relax, darling, the crew is on the way. I drove ahead to secure our rooms, as your baby bro promised- speaking of where is the kid?”</p><p>Obi-Wan blinked for a second as he glanced towards the clock and blanched hard. Shit, he needed to go pick Anakin up from school! He cast a panicked look at Siri and waved a hand at Quinlan. “Take care of...this. I need to go pick up Anakin from school. I lost track of time hunting for the stupid lightbulbs that I just broke.” Siri snickered before giving him a mock salute. He flashed her a tight smile as he bolted out the backdoor again. He didn’t even realize Quinlan had followed him until he was yanking open the driver’s door and found himself staring at Quin over the top of the car.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Come on, your brother is a huge fan, he will be <i>thrilled</i> if you show up with me when you pick him up.”</p><p>That was annoyingly sound logic and he hated every single part of it, Obi-Wan made a face. “Shouldn’t you be waiting for your crew or setting up fake hauntings in my place? Which, by the way, I still haven’t agreed to- I own the place, not Anakin. You need my permission- Hey! I didn’t say you could actually get in the car!” The idea of hiding bodies in the basement was really becoming more and more appealing. No one would know, right? He sighed loudly as he got in the car while Quinlan just gave him a smug look. </p><p>“You know,” Obi-Wan remarked when they were finally on the road and heading towards Anakin’s school. “I am not okay with this.”</p><p>“Are you ever,” Quinlan countered while he fiddled with the radio. The man couldn’t seem to stay on a station for more than a few moments. It was infuriating and he knew with each station jump he was gripping the steering wheel even tighter. “We’ve both grown up, I’m past one night stands now.”</p><p>“That- what? I wasn’t talking- I meant the show, but thank you for clearing up your stance on one night stands.”</p><p>“Oh, right, show, too bad. My crew should arrive tonight and we can go over how this works. Plus, it wouldn’t be a one night stand when I get you back in the sack,” Quinlan’s sounded like this was just a normal conversation. This was far from a normal conversation! “I thought you wanted to be a teacher, why are you even running some inn?”</p><p>“Bed and Breakfast- and wait,” Obi-Wan screeched into a spot in the pick up lane at the school before fully turning to stare at the man in the seat next to him. “You remembered I want to be a teacher?”</p><p>“Well, of course, you were adorable when you were gushing about your plans. I remember everything about that night, even the part where you snuck out before I fucking woke up.” Quinlan fixed him with a look and he couldn’t quite decipher the meaning. Obi-Wan felt his face flushing, damn his fair complexion, and cleared his throat awkwardly. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having. By some strange miracle Anakin picked that exact moment to run up to the car and bang his cast against the window. Both occupants jumped in their seats and Obi-Wan rolled the window down with a glare. At least the blasted conversation was on pause, or so he hoped.</p><p>“What have I told you about doing that? If you break the window, Anakin-”</p><p>“I won’t, calm down. Hi Quinlan! Did you really fu-” Why did his brother insist on swearing like a sailor? Not that he had any room to talk, swear words were annoyingly fun to use.</p><p>“Anakin!” </p><p>“...so you know my brother?”</p><p>Quinlan blinked before bursting into a brilliant smile that did nasty things to Obi-Wan’s insides. “I do know him, we met when I was still coming up with the idea for my show. I think he was nineteen?” And, of course, Quinlan somehow remembered his age from back then. <i>Fantastic.</i></p><p>“Oh, so right after Obi-Wan ran away. Lame."</p><p>“I didn’t run away, I went to college! Get in the car, brat.” </p><p>“Ms. Kryze wanted to know if-”</p><p>“Get in the car, Anakin!” Anakin grinned before moving to do as ordered. He was as loud as possible when he threw his backpack into the backseat before clambering inside. Obi-Wan was honestly surprised he even paused to put on his seatbelt before leaning forward to play twenty questions with Quinlan. Safety was ingrained into them, thankfully, even if one of them was hyperfocusing on the annoying man in the front seat. He was a tad grateful that Quin seemed amused by the whole thing and promptly did his best to tune out the whole conversation.</p><p>This would hopefully be an innocent conversation...</p><p>“Why did you make a show,” Anakin was shooting the questions out rapidly and Obi-Wan had to wonder if his brother was going to pass out from not getting enough oxygen between words.</p><p>“Cause I thought it would be cool if the world saw what I see.”</p><p>“Do you ever read the message boards?” Message boards? He felt a headache growing as he realized he really had no idea what his little brother did when he was glued to his laptop. He supposed being an utter fanboy over Quinlan was better than some of the more, uh, adult options. </p><p>“Yeah, but only when I am drunk. Only way I can put up with some of that shit."</p><p>“Quin,” he found himself saying before he could stop himself. The tone of voice he used was exasperated and he could feel both Quin and his brother looking at him now. Damn.</p><p>“What? I wasn’t going to lie to the kid!”</p><p>“Hey! I’m not a kid!” </p><p>“I need to stop at the hardware store to get more lightbulbs, can the two of you please behave in the car while I’m gone,” he didn’t even try to hide the fact he was changing the topic in an attempt to end the question and answer session. “I’d prefer not to come outside to this vehicle in flames.”</p><p>“No! I wanna go in,” Anakin whined. “I need more fuses for a project I am working on and this is the first time all month we are stopping at the one place that has them!”</p><p>“And I want some jerky,” Quinlan offered unhelpfully.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>If he ran now he could just strand Quinlan in the hardware store and also strand his brother as a bonus. The idea was beyond tempting, Obi-Wan admitted to himself while staring at a display of Halloween decorations; that it would stop so many future headaches if he lost them. His lips turned down into a frown while he stood there. The decorations were stirring something in his mind, rooting him to the spot. Dad had always gone all out to decorate Concord Dawn and now… he wasn’t sure how he was going to manage to even come close to the skills of Qui-Gon and he didn’t want to let Anakin down. That thought was also the reason he hadn’t put a hard stop to this stupid ghost show. His little brother deserved happiness, something to distract him for the moment, before the holidays slammed down around them with a mixture of grief and confusion. He knew things would be different, but it was while staring at a fake skeleton that it really seemed to plow straight into him like a dump truck.<p>They didn’t have their father. </p><p>His fingers tightened around the handles of the shopping basket as he tried to remember how to stop the unwanted thoughts. </p><p>“With a real haunted place you won’t need, whoa. Hey, you okay,” Quinlan’s concerned voice seemed to slice through the emotions bubbling inside his head and Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. He gave a shrug since he didn’t exactly know what to say. He didn’t think he was okay, but he didn’t exactly want to tell a near stranger that.</p><p>“Shit, sorry. Your brother mentioned...look, I’m sorry, Obi-Wan.”</p><p>Anakin had mentioned their father? How much had Anakin actually told Quinlan? He had known his little brother had messaged back and forth, but he hadn’t actually thought about what they had been talking about. Leave it to Anakin to talk about personal things to a stranger on the internet. It would just be so easy to dig two holes in the basement floor, no one would find out.</p><p>“It’s fine, Quin. I am… just having a mental breakdown in the middle of a hardware store while my one night stand asks if I am okay because why not? I don’t even know why you are here,” he knew his words sounded frantic, but he couldn’t quite stop the oncoming storm that threatened to spill from his lips. “I didn’t even think you’d remember me! Now you are going to do a show-” His eyes widened in pure surprise when he suddenly found Quinlan’s face inches from his. They stared at each other for what felt like hours and then the other closed the distance. He didn’t move as he was subjected to a shockingly innocent kiss. </p><p>The storm went silent.</p><p>His heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest.</p><p>“Hey, I found the fuses, we can go- uh, could you two not make out in the hardware store? I actually want to come back here again,” Anakin somehow sounded horrified and annoyed at the same time. </p><p>“Anakin,” he snapped as he pulled back from the kiss like it had burned him. “We aren’t simply here for your whims!”</p><p>“Well, excuse me, Obes! But I said I wanted fuses, now I have fuses. I’m hungry, so hurry it up! It is really fucking weird to see you kiss Quinlan Vos!”</p><p>Obi-Wan could only sigh while Quinlan burst out laughing. This was going to be a long- wait, had anyone actually said how long they were going to be stuck with the Ghost Sensors madness?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope people are enjoying this story! I didn't know I needed something like this, but writing this sparks joy.</p><p>So thank you for reading 💜</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“A pleasure to meet you all,” he said truthfully. “I am sorry Quin has dragged you here, there really isn’t-”</p><p>“THIS IS AMAZING,” Anakin blurted out as he finally couldn’t hold back anymore. It was honestly impressive his brother hadn’t exploded earlier. Obi-Wan tried to grab him as he rushed by, but his fingers merely skimmed the material of the shirt the other was wearing. Ani ran straight up to Cody and Rex and gave them a brilliant smile. The twins glanced at each other before glancing back at the teenager with matching bemused looks. “Is Rex going to get locked in the basement by himself? Cody, do you think you can do EMF readings in my room? What about-” His words turned into a faint yelp as Obi-Wan finally snagged the back of his shirt to pull him away from the Ghost Sensors team.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have returned with another chapter!!! I will admit I am getting lost in the spooky season in ACNH, but I am making sure to actually pay attention to my WIPs as well. T_T why aren't there more hours in a day?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i>The people you love become ghosts inside of you, and like this you keep them alive.</i><br/>
― Rob Montgomery</p>
  <p>☆☆☆</p>
</div>Quinlan’s crew was at the Concord Dawn by the time the excruciating trip to the hardware store was over. Obi-Wan could feel his jaw twitching at the sight of the black van and matching SUV parked in the guest lot when he pulled his own, less expensive car, into his driveway. Anakin was practically vibrating in the backseat while Quinlan just looked bored. Well, this day was a resounding success. Maybe Quin would choke on the teriyaki jerky he had purchased and then they wouldn’t have to do this stupid investigation?<p>“Ani, do you have homework,” he asked as he put the car in park. </p><p>They were actually doing this. </p><p>His life was going to be so inconvenienced. </p><p>“Uh, a paper and some math, but come on, Obes, did you see the vehicles? They can wait! I want to meet the crew, I want to see how they are going to set up- Quin, we are going to meet the crew right,” Anakin leaned between the seats with a wide grin on his face. His brother was beyond enamored, something that was made clear by the fact the kiss at the hardware store hadn’t been brought up once. The teen was carrying on as if the only important thing was Ghost Sensors. </p><p>“Yeah, kid, you are going to meet the crew,” Quinlan drawled out while he toyed with the radio knob. Obi-Wan swatted at the hand without a second thought and stilled when he found said hand tangled up with Quin’s rather abruptly. He blinked, turned his face towards the other, and raised an eyebrow slowly. Seriously? Anakin groaned loudly and did his best to escape the back of the car as fast as he could. Obi-Wan was almost tempted to laugh and he could see Quinlan’s lips twitching with mirth that wanted to spill-free. Teenagers, so dramatic.</p><p>“Quin,” he breathed out while trying to pull his hand free. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“I wanted to talk, your brother is clearly repelled by us having physical contact.” A snort escaped Obi-Wan. Quinlan was dramatic, even more, dramatic than Anakin. That was impressive.</p><p>“My brother isn’t a vampire or bug, Quin. He doesn’t need repelling.”</p><p>“No, but he kept hovering. I want to talk. Please.” There was something raw in that voice, something that reached out and wrapped around his heart. Flashes of their time together seemed to erupt in his mind like splashes of color. It had been a one night stand that had stayed with him through the years. He had run, he knew, he had run from the sheer emotions Quinlan had shown him. He had been nineteen, free for the first time from this town, from the shadow of his family, and Quinlan Vos had nearly destroyed him with a smile. He had slipped out before the older boy, who had threatened to steal his heart; could actually waken.</p><p>Obi-Wan, at the time, had wanted the chance to see more of the world, he had wanted to be his own person, and he had been positive if he stayed until Quinlan woke up- well, he would have never left.</p><p>“And what do we need to talk about,” he finally managed to say softly. </p><p>“I think you know what,” Quinlan’s voice took on a dangerously silky tone and Obi-Wan felt his cheeks flush. </p><p>“You have a show to set up a haunting for,” the words were deflection and they both knew it. Obi-Wan once more tried to free his hand, but this time Quinlan yanked him forward by the joined fingers. A swear word escaped him just before lips crashed over his. That wasn’t talking, that was very much not talking! The logical part of his brain wanted to pull back, but his body seemed to remember how Quinlan Vos could make him feel. What happened was a bit of a clusterfuck. Obi-Wan tried to both surge forward, while somehow yanking back. His elbow slammed into the steering wheel and they both jumped as the horn blared loudly. </p><p>Laughter, actual laughter, escaped him for the time in a month. Obi-Wan wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, but most of all he wanted to fall into the warmth named Quinlan Vos. </p><p>He was so fucked.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>“This is Padmé, our research intern,” Quinlan pointed at a cheerful young lady who was clearly fresh out of high school, her eyes still bright and unhindered by the shackles called adult life. “Cody, our camera and tech guy,” he motioned to a man who was clearly the twin of the blonde fellow standing next to him. “Rex, he is one of the investigators.” Both Cody and Rex gave the same mock salute at the exact same time and Obi-Wan found it slightly unsettling. Anakin, however, looked enthralled. Siri had her phone up in such a way that he had to wonder if she was FaceTiming Garen so he could see the new arrivals before he got off his shift on the ship. “And this ugly dude is Feemor, clearly we keep him around because he is the most adult of us.”<p>Feemor glowered at Quinlan before holding his hand out for a proper introduction. Obi-Wan clasped his hand and smiled politely. There were so many strangers in his house and they weren’t at all what he expected. They all seemed so clean-cut, though the twins clearly had tattoos peeking out from underneath the rolled-up sleeves of their button-up shirts. They all seemed so shockingly normal for a group of people who surprisingly hunted ghosts. </p><p>“A pleasure to meet you all,” he said truthfully. “I am sorry Quin has dragged you here, there really isn’t-”</p><p>“THIS IS AMAZING,” Anakin blurted out as he finally couldn’t hold back anymore. It was honestly impressive his brother hadn’t exploded earlier. Obi-Wan tried to grab him as he rushed by, but his fingers merely skimmed the material of the shirt the other was wearing. Ani ran straight up to Cody and Rex and gave them a brilliant smile. The twins glanced at each other before glancing back at the teenager with matching bemused looks. “Is Rex going to get locked in the basement by himself? Cody, do you think you can do EMF readings in my room? What about-” His words turned into a faint yelp as Obi-Wan finally snagged the back of his shirt to pull him away from the Ghost Sensors team. </p><p>“Has Siri settled the matter of your rooms,” Obi-Wan cast a glance at his friend and snorted when she merely made a rude face at him. Ah, guess she had done her job and he should just leave her alone then. The phone shifted just a bit in her hand and he wiggled his fingers in a greeting for Garen. The smirk Siri gave him meant he had been right on the money.</p><p>“Oh, we do have rooms. This place is lovely, you have done an amazing job,” Padmé reassured him quickly. Ah, well, that was quite the enthusiasm. Obi-Wan wasn’t entirely sure what to say to the compliment. </p><p>“He has barely done anything, he just got back like a month ago,” Anakin ratted him out easily as while grinning up at Padmé. “Obes, here, thinks this place isn’t haunted. We’ve had chairs move and there is the whole walls banging thing.”</p><p>“Anakin,” he groaned out as he hid his face behind a hand. “Would you please let them have a chance to actually get settled?” </p><p>“I have an idea,” Quin said with a nasty gleam in his eyes. “Why doesn’t Ani show the crew around, let them know where some of the hotspots are, and you and I? We can talk about how this is going to work.” Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if Quinlan was talking about the show or the fact they were now back in each other’s lives. They hadn’t actually managed to talk in the car since the ill-timed horn blare had summoned people.</p><p>Fantastic, he hated how uncertain he felt about everything.</p><p>Anakin was already off running while the crew followed after him with an awful lot of laughter and chatter. Shouldn’t people who hunt ghosts be more...monotone? </p><p>“Should I go with them, <i>boss?</i> Give you two some alone time,” Siri teased as she leaned her elbows on the counter, phone resting next to her. She looked like she had just been given all the presents for Christmas, utterly delighted and smug.</p><p>“No, thank you, Quin and I are going to talk in the kitchenette.” </p><p>“Whatever you say,” Siri grinned at them and Obi-Wan made a quick retreat to his section of the Concord Dawn. </p><p>They were barely inside the kitchenette when he found his personal space being invaded again. “Quin-” He growled in annoyance into the kiss and that growl grew as his back slammed against the fridge. Magnets clattered loudly to the ground at their feet, acting as just enough a distraction to push Quinlan back a fraction. “You said talk!” </p><p>“I’ve been waiting to do that, and more, since this morning,” Quinlan said with a shrug. The man was infuriating!</p><p>“No,” Obi-Wan pushed both arms out and was pleased with the fact Quinlan actually backed up more. The other was following his cues, but had also just sprung that kiss on him. This was confusing and he just wanted a cup of tea to calm his nerves. “You don’t get to just come careening into my life like some wrecking ball! There was a reason I left-”</p><p>“And I waited,” Quinlan snapped with actual emotion. Obi-Wan froze there, with his arms stretched out and his hands pressed against Quin’s chest, and bit the inside of his cheek. He stared at the floor between their feet as he tried to replay those words in his head. He had waited? Why had he waited? Why did he suddenly feel so guilty? He had thought if he left then Quinlan would just move onto the next person. “I ripped apart my fucking apartment to find the number I was positive you left for me! I think I deserve the right to just come crashing back into your world!” </p><p>His arms started to tremble slightly as the words battered up against him like some violent wave. </p><p>“It was just-” The words failed him for a moment, the silence that followed was cold. Goosebumps erupted along his arms and he felt a chill race through him. “You terrified me.”</p><p>“What,” Quinlan reached up to wrap his hands around Obi-Wan’s wrists but made no move to forcefully remove his hands from his chest. “How am I terrifying?” </p><p>“No, that isn’t- I just… I was trying to escape, trying to start a life for myself and then you happened. Fuck, Quinlan, you were addictive and if I stayed I would have never left! I was starting college, I couldn’t just stay. Plus you had all these plans, you were going to leave, so I left first. It was a one ni-” His back slammed into the fridge again and he winced. Quinlan was determined to invade his bubble, staring at him with such hurt, such misery. </p><p>“You are an idiot.” </p><p>“...I am aware.”</p><p>Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what he had expected, but the painfully soft kiss wasn’t not it at all. Guilt was thrumming in his veins, but warmth was growing in his chest. He shifted just enough to slide his arms over Quinlan’s shoulders- Something crashed off the counter. They both froze before he turned his face to stare at the mug that was now in several pieces on the floor. Quinlan, for his part, let out a few swears before laughing. </p><p>“Fucking haunting!”</p><p>“My place isn’t haunted!”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>He wasn’t sure how this had happened, but the crew wanted to set up cameras along the eaves of the house. Anakin was doing his homework while Cody set up a nerve center, or whatever it was called, in their private living room. He wasn’t sure why his brother had offered up part of their area, but he honestly wasn’t exactly sure about a lot right now. Quinlan had left him off balance and the result was him agreeing to things without fully knowing what was going on. That was mainly how he found himself helping the intern, Padmé, put up cameras.<p>“This is bullshit,” he muttered as he worked at screwing the camera into place. Was it normal for the homeowner to be involved in the setup? Obi-Wan was now regretting not actually watching the show when Anakin had begged him to do so. He was going to have to binge the stupid thing to even know what was normal for this investigation. Well, he supposed he was already getting shitty sleep, staying up watching a show wouldn’t do much more damage. “Where did you want it pointing again,” he called out so Padmé could hear him. </p><p>“Oh, Quinlan said towards the shed. You should just need to turn it on since Cody already has each one set up for the private network. Also, your wifi speed is impressive! How fast is it?”</p><p>“Uh, I think I have a gig? Anakin plays a lot of games, I think.” He made a face as he finished securing the stupid camera. He had thought his brother was playing games, but what was happening was letting him know Ani was doing far more than that. Messaging Ghost Sensors had spawned this invasion into his house after all. </p><p>“Why can’t Quin put up the fucking cameras,” he grumbled and prayed Padmé couldn’t hear him. The fact she was prattling on about where else they had to set up the cameras made him believe she hadn’t heard him complain. </p><p>He was happy to help, honest. He was also going to pour vinegar in Quinlan’s coffee tomorrow as revenge.</p><p>Everything seemed to lurch suddenly and Obi-Wan felt his fingers slipping away from the wooden rungs. Padmé was yelling something, but all he could focus on was the strange feeling of weightlessness before he fell. Anakin was going to be furious if he died from falling off a ladder and that thought made his heart spasm. He tried to reach out, tried to grab something to stop the fall, but any means of safety eluded him. A rather strong swear word escaped him as he stared up at the house. </p><p>He was going to either die or be seriously injured and it didn't make sense. There had been no breeze nor anyone near the ladder. Padmé was on the porch for Force's sake, so what had happened? He was left equally confused when he didn't land painfully against the cold ground. Oh, the landing was still jarring, but he blinked in pure confusion while he jerkily tipped his head back to stare at Quinlan with wide eyes. Quin, for his part, looked utterly terrified, but somehow had a smile on his face. If Obi-Wan poked that smile he was positive it would shatter.</p><p>"When I said you should fall for me, Obes, I didn't mean literally," there was a forced cockiness in Quinlan's voice and Obi-Wan opened his mouth to thank him when the most ear-splitting squeal bombarded his senses. Both men winced and he curled in towards Quin, hiding his face against the other's shoulder. </p><p>"That was so romantic! Like something out of one my books, you just- I can't believe I just witnessed a real-life romance movie!" </p><p>“Quin,” he bit out. The other complied with the single word request and set him down, but somehow kept an arm around his waist. That was actually appreciated since he was positive his legs would give out if he tried to stand on his own. Falling from a ladder was a bit, uh, traumatic. As was the fact the bright, young intern seemed to be comparing them to some sort of bodice-ripping novel. That or a Hallmark movie.</p><p>“Oh sweet Force,” Padmé suddenly said as she pointed an accusing finger at them. “He is O.W.K! You have us doing an episode with the very person you dedicated an episode to in Season 2! Your fans are going to go crazy when they-”</p><p>Season 2? Obi-Wan glanced up at Quinlan with annoyance. The man surely hadn’t, right?</p><p>“Padmé,” Quinlan’s arm tightened around his waist. “Could you not? Go see if Rex needs help.”</p><p>“You dedicated an episode to me,” Obi-Wan blurted out since he couldn’t seem to think about anything else now. “I don’t even watch the show!”</p><p>“Yeah, got that loud and clear when you didn’t magically reappear after the episode, Obes.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh, look, they sort of talked?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"...I hate your ghost."</p><p>"There is no ghost," he argued merely for argument's sake. "The building is old- or your friends are being jackasses."</p><p>Quinlan snorted before purposefully turning his back to the doorway.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As promised, Quin is the source of most of this chapter. Happy Spooky Season ~! My island in ACNH is getting a huge makeover for this season lol</p><p>(Side note, the first upload ate the last bit. I had to edit and add in the Obi-Wan POV)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i>We're all ghosts. We all carry, inside us, people who came before us.</i><br/>
-Liam Callanan</p>
  <p>☆☆☆</p>
</div>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p> <b>FIVE YEARS AGO</b></p>
</div><p>What should have been warm and comforting, was cold and empty. His side was freezing, pulling him from some, if not the best fucking sleep he had ever had. Quinlan groaned as he rolled over on the futon and wasn't that surprised when his arm didn't land on someone else. He lay there for a moment as he tried to fully wake up. Obi-Wan wasn't in bed with him and the flat was oddly silent.</p><p>Alone.</p><p>Yeah, that wasn't good.</p><p>Quinlan cracked his eyes open and felt his heart sink, despite already somehow knowing the other was gone. He couldn't see the chaotic pile of clothing that had been created in a hurry last night. No, instead his things were folded neatly on a chair, and only his things. Kriff, how silent was that redhead? He rubbed at his eyes with one hand while he debated just going back to bed. If Obi-Wan was gone then another hour of sleep wouldn't hurt anything, plus it would help ease up the ache he felt in his muscles. He rolled over onto his other side and winced. A mug, a simple, innocent mug, was sitting on the window ledge and he could hear the laughter from Obi-Wan as he talked animatedly about the time his little brother had gotten stuck in the laundry chute while drinking that cup of tea. There had been something about the way those blue eyes had sparkled whenever he talked about Ani that had made Quinlan want to jump his bones. He had, actually done just that, half way through a story about Ani and a disastrous volcano science fair project. He never did get to hear the ending of that tale, but it had so been worth it in hindsight. There was a ghost of Obi-Wan laughing in his mind and it was right next to the one where the man had looked at him with such raw emotion. </p><p>Quinlan swore as he yanked the extra pillow towards his chest so he could curl up around it for the moment. The stupid thing smelled like the cinnamon scent Obi-Wan had been wearing. </p><p>One night stands weren't uncommon for him, but this one had been painfully different. </p><p>He didn't want it to just be a one night stand, no, he wanted it to be <i>more.</i></p><p>"Fuck, I messed up," he told the tea cup.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>A solid week.<p>Seven agonizing days.</p><p>Quinlan kept going back to the bookstore that had the little coffee shop in the back, he kept haunting the poetry section, and he just waited for a glimpse of that infectious smile. </p><p>“He hasn’t been here,” an old lady said morosely before drifting straight through the shelves next to him. The damn ghosts had caught on that he was trying to find someone and they had figured out it was Obi-Wan. It was honestly surprising they all weren’t crowding him and had only sent Edith to pester him. He pulled his earbuds free and popped one in an ear to have the illusion of talking on his cellphone before he responded to Mrs. Edith.</p><p>“At all?”</p><p>“Fraid not, sweetheart. Could have just been passing through, they do that sometimes. Those charming gentlemen with the promises of fun in their movements,” she floated upward slightly and angled her head, almost as if she was trying to read the spine of a book. Quinlan bit back a sigh as he tried to remember if Obi-Wan had mentioned if he was staying in this town or not. They had talked a lot, more than he ever had with any other conquest. Actually, the whole day had started off strange. He had practically ran straight into the redhead when he rounded a shelf, startling the guy. Books on poetry had clattered to the ground while they just stared at each other. </p><p>Quinlan had fallen hard, even before the other had laughed and apologized as if somehow he had been at fault. </p><p>“I mean we had a lot of fun,” he grumbled as he glanced down at his boots. “He seemed to like me, at least I thought he did-”</p><p>“He seemed like the type to be running from something and you just happened to halt him for a moment, it happens. Too young with a world to see, dear.” </p><p>“I could have been his world, he listened to me! He actually fucking listened when I talked and looked at me as if I was the only one in the room,” he groaned. “He tasted of life.” </p><p>Edith hummed in sympathy as she settled back down next to him. A hand went through his shoulder as she attempted to pat him reassuringly. “There, there, sweetheart. I had a boy like that once, I felt lucky he graced me with a dance and then when the sun rose he was gone. Hold onto the memory and go find yourself someone else. Your heart will mend, take it from me, I had five husbands!”</p><p>“Yeah, and I still think you killed like four of them,” he rubbed at his eyes with a hand as he debated what to do. Did he keep coming back? Did he keep waiting for Obi-Wan to appear with a smile that made him want to fall to his knees? “Kriff…” </p><p>“Now, now, it was never proven, they could have died of natural causes.”</p><p>Quinlan had the sudden horrifying thought that his collection of one night stands wasn't going to grow any. He didn't want to bring someone else into that bed, didn't want someone else drinking from that mug, and he didn't want to listen to the attempts at conversation. They had always been so hollow, so forced, right up until Obi-Wan had lit up his whole flat with an infectious zeal for life. </p><p>That damn laugh.</p><p>"Oh shit," he breathed out and Mrs. Edith gave him an overly sympathetic look.</p><p>"You poor dear, you really are smitten, aren't you?"</p><p>Yes, yes he was. </p><p>"...this is the worst." Quinlan pulled his phone free of his pocket and began to systematically delete every phone number of people he used for quick hookups. Gone and deleted, drunk temptation exorcised from his life. The fact more than half of his contacts ended up removed hurt. Maybe it was time for him to take the twins and Feemor up on the offer of actually creating a pilot episode of their ghost hunting show. Hell, making his dream show, even if it only ended up as some webcast, was going to be a brilliant distraction.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <b>PRESENT DAY</b>
  </p>
</div>Quinlan didn't even try to behave when it came to Obi-Wan, which was why he definitely had one of his hands in one of the man's back pockets as they stood staring at the monitors Cody had set up. Obi-Wan looked annoyed, but he didn't pull away, so clearly he was annoyed at the nerve center and not at the fact Quin was shit at giving the other personal space.<p>"I still fail to see why there needs to be a camera in my room," Obi-Wan was saying to Cody and Quinlan's mind went to a very inappropriate place. </p><p>"Because there is practically one in every room, besides, they aren't on yet. I'll be checking everything in the next few days." Cody was being patient and polite, something he rarely was with Quin. He shot his tech guy an unamused look and Cody gave him the tiniest of smirks. The dude knew exactly what he was doing. "If you want we can wait until later in the week to install it-"</p><p>"Week? Pardon?"</p><p>Quinlan raised his free hand and tried to motion for Cody to abort this current conversation. Hand signal frantic. Failure and an argument were going to be the result of the bomb he was positive his friend was about to drop. Cody had received the message, but he noticed that mischievous gleam in the other's eyes, which meant Cody was getting payback for something. Oh fuck. </p><p>"I mean we are for a month so I guess it could be in two weeks," Cody delivered blandly, as if this was some public knowledge. </p><p>"A month. Pardon us for a moment, would you?" Quinlan yelped as Obi-Wan actually grabbed him by the ear and physically dragged him from the room. Cody's laughter followed after them and he made a mental note to have Cody explore the basement alone. No, the attic would be better. </p><p>"Quinlan Vos," Obi-Wan scowled before letting go of his ear once they were inside what appeared to be Obes' bedroom. There were neat piles of books, some pictures littered the wall, but what really screamed that this was Obi-Wan's safe haven were the various forgotten mugs in odd places. He couldn't fight the grin that grew on his face, some things, it seemed, never changed. "A month? You are going to be disrupting my business for a month!'</p><p>"Did I forget to mention that?" The look he received was highly unimpressed, but he couldn't help grinning. </p><p>"Anakin is already having issues focusing on his homework because you are here. Can you imagine how that is going to get worse the longer you are here? He is going to demand to join your team," Obi-Wan jabbed a finger into his chest and Quin quickly grabbed his wrist. Obi-Wan was a tad slow on the uptake, if he gave an inch then Quinlan was going to steal a mile. He moved forward, crowding the other, and simply let out a sound of agreement.</p><p>"That wouldn't be so bad, you both could travel with us-"</p><p>"I can't leave the Concord Dawn-"</p><p>"Then I guess we will just have to permanently rent some rooms here, do all our hunts nearby," Quinlan leaned forward to let his lips brush up against Obi-Wan's ear as he let his voice deepen. He felt the shiver and had to bite back a grin. "I am not letting you run this time, not when you've haunted my memories for years. Did you know I keep a box of that crappy tea at my flat in the off chance you stumbled through my door again."</p><p>"Quin," there was a definite hitch in the other's voice. "I'm-"</p><p>"You slipped out the door without a word. I'm not dumb enough to give you another chance, Obes. Besides there is a story you never got to finish telling me," he scraped his teeth against Obi-Wan's earlobe. Fingers were suddenly tangled in his shirt as the other man made a sound in the back of his throat. "Something about volcanos," he pressed his lips against the pale flesh of Obi-Wan's neck. "Explosive, hot," he breathed out right before biting down. The moan that escaped the redhead was down right criminal, but the fact it was paired with hands trying to undo his belt only made it that much more amazing. Quinlan let his own hands find their way under the back of the soft shirt Obes was wearing. He dug his fingers in hard enough to bruise and relished the way the man pressed up against him. Yes, finally, after all these years he was going to end up tangled up with Obi-Wan again. </p><p>A cracking sound interrupted them, more so since it was followed by the sound of yelling, and Obi-Wan jerked away hard. Fucking ghost! Quinlan swore and struggled to fix his belt while they both rushed out of the room. His gaze flickered to the bruise on the other's neck and he couldn't help smirking. He was also a fan of how the pristine shirt was now very rumpled. Dishelvement looked good on Obi-Wan Kenobi.</p><p>He was going to get Obi-Wan into bed with him before the week was up.</p><p>"Damn it! What happened," Obi-Wan snapped as he skidded to a halt in front of a clearly cracked window. Rex's gaze went straight to the mark on the neck before actually meeting the irritated innkeeper's gaze. </p><p>"I was showing Anakin how we take readings and we were just about to go in that room over there," the blonde motioned to a slightly ajar door. "And then it got freaking cold-"</p><p>"And the window broke," Anakin supplied with far too much enthusiasm. "It was amazing! Obes, our place is totally haunted- whoa, that is a Hell of a bruise. What the fuck? What happened to you?"</p><p>Quinlan watched in fascination as Obi-Wan turned five shades of scarlet. "Ani, go grab my phone from the kitchenette. I need to call a repairman- Rex, please stop corrupting my brother."</p><p>"Pretty sure the only corruption going on, dude, is with you," Rex grinned rather like a shark. "Quin really left an impressive hickey."</p><p>Anakin paled and then made a sound rather like he was throwing up in his mouth. "Oh my God, I invited them here to investigate our house, not so you could fuck Quinlan, Obes!"</p><p>"Language!" Obi-Wan's voice was controlled, but Quin could tell he was about to lose all control with just the right prodding.</p><p>"That hasn't happened yet, he is playing hard to get-" </p><p>"QUIN!" Oh, look, he snapped. Anakin and Rex looked at each other before nearly knocking into each other when they both bolted at the same time. Quinlan could only smile innocently while Obi-Wan stared at the damaged window.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>Anakin was thankfully passed out hard in his own room or at least Obi-Wan hoped he was. The last thing he needed right now was for his little brother to stumble into the kitchenette while he may or may not have his hands under the back of Quinlan's shirt. Okay, that probably wouldn't be the most scarring part of what was happening. He was sitting on the counter along with two empty bottles of wine and he was thrilled in his buzzed state to have Quinlan paying attention to him. The repairman said they'd be by tomorrow to look at the window and he had decided to just have a drink to calm down. Quinlan was a never ending source of confusion and bad decisions, which was probably why one drink had turned into a few more.<p>He couldn't actually recall who kissed who first or even how he had gotten up the counter, but that hardly mattered. Quin was whispering in his ear, lips brushing against the curve of said ear in such a way that he very much wanted to climb the man that was pressed up against him.</p><p>"Vos," he warned and earned a laugh.</p><p>"So impatient, Obes. I am supposed to be setting up cameras to catch evidence." Cameras be damn! He grinned triumphantly as Quinlan fully invaded his space for a kiss that tasted of wine and whatever cigar Quin had clearly smoked outside. Vanilla? He dug his fingers into the other's back and laughed when he got a faint growl in return. </p><p>"My room isn't that fa-" he had started to say between kisses and froze as a loud crashing sound came from a different room. "Fuck."</p><p>Quinlan snorted. "I mean, yes, please-"</p><p>And then the crashing was followed by rather loud banging like sounds. Obi-Wan tensed as he stared at the darkened doorway leading to the other room. That doorway felt wrong, but he couldn't quite explain why. Okay, maybe his place was actually haunted? Between this, the ladder, and the window incident he was starting to wonder. </p><p>"...I hate your ghost."</p><p>"There is no ghost," he argued merely for argument's sake. "The building is old- or your friends are being jackasses."</p><p>Quinlan snorted before purposefully turning his back to the doorway. "Cody and Rex are probably passed out. Feemor and Padmé are far too mature to make a fake haunting right now, but that isn't important… you mentioned your room."</p><p>Obi-Wan blinked and tried to recall mentioning his room. Oh right, he had brought that up right before the house decided to be creepy as fuck. "I thought you were setting up equipment," he settled on saying with an amused look on his face. "I'd hate to make things hard for you-"</p><p>"Oh trust me, you already have."</p><p>"...that is not what I meant and you know it."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I am 100% chaotic awkward at writing intimacy. The anxious cringe is real lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>He blinked in surprise as he realized he knew that song. </p><p>“Is that-”</p><p>“Shut up, Anakin changed it on me. I don’t watch your show, I just haven't had time to find a new ringtone,” the redhead said with some force before turning to answer the call. Aw, the kid had changed his older brother's ringtone to the theme song of the show! He waved a hand towards Quin, dismissing him, and he promptly decided not to do as asked. He crowded into Obi-Wan’s space as the man began a conversation with what sounded like his grandfather.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Things went sideways here when a heck of a storm blew through Wednesday. Large areas are without power, I luckily have power, but holy moly. I was driving home when the storm hit. T_T </p><p>I spent most of yesterday being zen since I escaped several falling trees and such. Oh, yeah, my place o business is closed until Tuesday since we have a long wait to get power back so YAY SURPRISE VACATION! I wrote this between playing spooky Animal Crossing and I regret nothing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i>Ghosts have a way of misleading you; they can make your thoughts as heavy as branches after a storm.</i><br/>-Rebecca Maizel</p>
  <p>☆☆☆<br/></p>
</div><p>There was a picture on the mantle, one of what looked almost like a completely different family. A stern, refined man stood without smiling at the camera, next to him was a man with the largest grin Quinlan had ever seen on his face. His hands were resting on the shoulders of a prissy looking teenage boy. The eyes of the teenager seemed to follow him when he rocked slowly to one side and then the other. There seemed to be a faint sort of malice about him, but Quin wasn’t entirely positive, so it was probably just in his head. His gaze shifted to the next framed picture and he raised an eyebrow in question.</p><p>Well, things certainly had changed.</p><p>The smiling man was there, but older and not quite as jovial, and the two people with him were completely different. He recognized a younger Obi-Wan immediately and did a double-take at the look of pure amusement that decorated his face. That meant the small kid was Anakin, who appeared to be trying to run out of the picture, but was being stopped by one of Obi-Wan’s hands grabbing the hood of his sweatshirt. That seemed about right from what he knew of the dynamic between the two brothers.</p><p>“Must you put cameras there as well,” Obes’ voice knocked him straight out of his study of the photos and he spun around as if he had been caught doing something wrong. </p><p>“No, I think we can leave your office unaccosted for now. Hey, Obes, who is the brunette?” He watched how the other tensed slightly before walking over to stand next to him. </p><p>“That is my older brother. He...passed away when I was younger and it put a rift between dad and Grandfather.” Quinlan could hear how Obi-Wan capitalized the word grandfather as he spoke. Oh, so the old dude that looked like he had a stick up his ass was also family. “Grandfather blamed dad, which I am sure you can see play out in the next picture. He stopped visiting.”</p><p>“Why aren’t you in the first picture?” </p><p>Obi-Wan fell silent for a moment before sighing faintly, clearly coming to some sort of decision. He folded his arms across his chest while studying the picture, almost like he was trying to unlock some secret hidden there. “I think I was at camp when that was taken. That or who knows, it was so long ago.” </p><p>Quinlan didn’t believe the man for a second but settled on accepting the answer with a faint nod. “You passed out last night before I could have fun,” he changed the topic to one he knew would get a rise out of Obi-Wan. The words worked like a charm, a strangled sound escaped the innkeeper and Quin merely smirked. </p><p>“I drank an entire bottle of wine, did you think I was going to stay awake?”</p><p>“Two.”</p><p>“Pardon?”</p><p>“You drank two bottles of wine, which is fucking impressive. You only passed out when we made it to your room,” Quinlan informed him with faint amusement. “It almost broke my heart to leave you alone, but I am a man of honor.” </p><p>“You’re something,” Obi-Wan muttered while running a hand through his hair. Various locks sprang free at the motion and Quinlan had a huge urge to grab a handful of that hair. The desire was interrupted when the sound of a cell phone going off filled the space. He blinked in surprise as he realized he knew that song. </p><p>“Is that-”</p><p>“Shut up, Anakin changed it on me. I don’t watch your show, I just haven't had time to find a new ringtone,” the redhead said with some force before turning to answer the call. Aw, the kid had changed his older brother's ringtone to the theme song of the show! He waved a hand towards Quin, dismissing him, and he promptly decided not to do as asked. He crowded into Obi-Wan’s space as the man began a conversation with what sounded like his grandfather.</p><p>“Yes, now is a perfectly fine time,” Obi-Wan said and Quinlan slid his arms around his waist from behind. He let his hands find their way into the front pockets of the other’s pants. A faint hitch in breath was the only sign he got that his attempts at distracting were working well. </p><p>“Grandfather,” the word came out stressed. Ah, he had been right! He rested his chin on Obi-Wan’s other shoulder and debated his next move. “I did receive the email. All those schools look lovely, but as I said I am not going to uproot Ani right now. He is happy-” The words cut off and he scraped his teeth over the edge of the ear closest to him. Kenobi squirmed slightly before elbowing him in retaliation. “I am fully aware, but I am still not- oh, yes, of course. I am sure we can both visit for Christmas, Siri can watch the Concord Dawn. Ani would be thrilled to see you again, as would I.” </p><p>That sounded like a bullshit line if he ever heard one.</p><p>A faint gasp escaped the man he was bothering when he may have shifted a hand just a fraction too far to the side inside the pocket. “Grandfather, as much as I love our chats,” that voice was strained, also a bit flustered, and Quinlan grinned hard. “I need to go. There is something I need to take care of before it gets out of hand. No, it doesn’t have to do with Ani. Just a matter with the Concord Dawn.” Obi-Wan pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call.</p><p>“That a-”</p><p>“If you are about to crack some lewd pick up line, I will kick you out of my establishment,” he was informed in a matter of fact tone. Quinlan snickered before pressing a kiss to the side of Obi-Wan’s neck. The man leaned back into him, tilting his head just slightly to give better access, and then several books fell off the shelves near the desk. He narrowed his eyes at the offending shelf, but couldn't seem to catch sight of the damn ghost that was haunting the place. The thing was good at vanishing right after causing some sort of issue. The timing was really starting to get on his nerves.</p><p>"Your place really doesn't want us to get it on," he whispered against Obi-Wan's ear. The subject of his attention snorted with laughter before moving to slide his phone into one of his back pockets. </p><p>"A pity, I'm sure."</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>"And what does this one do," Anakin pointed at an object that looked like a hockey puck. He knew the answer, since had religiously watched the show, but he wanted to hear Rex explain anyway. The man had answered at least a hundred questions while they sorting through gear and eating pizza.<p>"Ani," Obes said softly with a pointed look. Anakin looked at him and made a faint face. Quinlan was sitting a little too close to his brother on the floor, something Obi-Wan wasn't complaining about. What was up with that?</p><p>"What? I already did my homework and they don't seem to mind the questions. You don't mind the questions right," he glanced back towards Rex, who was just taking a large bite of jalapeno and pepperoni pizza. Cody snorted and nudged his twin with an elbow.</p><p>"We don't mind, kid. Honestly, it is nice not to have you two freaking out at us. You are both amazingly calm for living with a haunting," Cody picked up his can of soda and clinked it against the one Rex held out. </p><p>"We aren't haunted-"</p><p>"It has been always haunted," Anakin interrupted. "Obes used to talk to the shadows when he was younger, dad said so." Obi-Wan stretched a leg out just so he could knock his foot into Anakin's side. "Ow! Hey! It's the truth. Dad had all sorts of stories about how you'd-"</p><p>"Anakin, please."</p><p>"No, no, Anakin, yes. Tell us more," Quinlan snagged the can of soda his brother was holding and took a swig as if that was normal. Obes merely rolled his eyes before accepting the can back. Anakin narrowed his eyes at the two. </p><p>"Are you two hooking up," he blurted out and heard the strangest sound next to him. Rex started coughing and Cody promptly smacked him hard on the back a few times. Rex pressed a hand to his nose as he swore faintly. Oh, poor dude, soda out the nose. That really burned, Ani knew from experience. Quin merely looked amused and his brother looked oddly resigned. </p><p>"I mean there is nothing wrong with being into guys," he reassured his brother. "I mean I used to have the biggest crush on Cody-" Rex lost it, laughing loudly while Cody was staring at Anakin like he had grown two heads. "What? I said used to!"</p><p>"And then you saw our intern," the glee in Quinlan's voice was obvious and Anakin felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment. Damn, had he been that obvious?</p><p>"Sorry, kid," Rex finally managed to wheeze out. "She is dating me. Guess you have to go back to crushing on Cody." He yelped when his twin hit him hard in the arm. Anakin merely frowned before casting a look towards Obi-Wan. His brother flashed him a sympathetic smile and something in him seemed to twist. He didn't want pity! He surged up off the floor and glared at everyone. </p><p>"I have a paper to write," he snapped before storming off, knowing full well he had just said all his homework was done. He could hear his brother calling after him, but he didn't stop. No, he headed straight to his room. Dad would have acted just like Obi-Wan and somehow that was what had set him off. Hell, dad would have even joined the teasing while smiling sympathetically. He missed Qui-Gon, he missed the joy his father had brought into the world, but most of all he hated how happy he was that he finally had his brother back. </p><p>Why couldn't he have just had both at the same time?</p><p>Obi-Wan had left for college and hadn't looked back. Anakin had that day seared into his mind like a video. Qui-Gon had begged him to just go to the college a town over, to at least reconsider, but Obi-Wan had exchanged cruel words with him. Parroted something Grandfather had clearly put in his mouth like the favorite grandson he was. The way their father's face crumbled had upset him and he hadn't understood why at the time. Cruel words had left everyone with overly bright eyes. All Anakin had known at that time was his brother was picking a life without him, running away from everything they had. Anakin hated his brother, he loved him. He was happy he was back, but not exactly as thrilled with the whole fact his brother was ignoring that stupid life all so he could raise him. </p><p>He was stopping Obi-Wan from doing what he wanted and it made him feel guilty. He felt guilty because he didn't want his brother to leave again. He wanted him to stay with him at the Concord Dawn.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>The bed creaked loudly and Quin couldn't help snorting with laughter. "You need a new mattress," he shifted to make the mattress springs sound again.<p>"Quin, my mattress is fine- please stop doing that," Obi-Wan tried to stop Quinlan from practically bouncing on the bed. The man only moved out of the way before making direct eye contact. Obi-Wan could only watch as Quin threw himself backward in such a way that the whole mattress lurched loudly. Anakin was probably thinking the worst was happening right now. "We came in here to talk!  Not for you to break my mattress."</p><p>"I can think of an even more interesting way to break this mattress. What do you say? Wanna bang?" He groaned as he held his face in his hands. Quinlan Vos was the most chaotic person he knew. Why did his heart seem to beat differently when Quin made those damn suggestions? Flashes of last night in the kitchen appeared behind his eyes. That wasn't why they were in here, but now he was thinking he had picked the absolute worst place to talk. </p><p>"Listen," Obi-Wan finally said when he got himself under some semblance of control and let himself fall backward into the mattress. The damn springs squeaked loudly, growing louder as Quin shifted to lean over him. "Anakin just lost his father-"</p><p>"You lost yours too, Obes," Quin pointed out softly. </p><p>"Well, yes I did, but what I was trying to say is he gets a tad emotional. Please don't judge him for any outbursts, this is a big adjustment for him. It can't be easy to be raised by me- hnngh," the words turned into something else when Quinlan gave him a rather aggressive kiss. Obi-Wan leaned into the kiss and ignored how the mattress sang again as a weight settled across his hips. His hands came up to grip the edges of the thighs straddling him. Rough denim rubbed against the palm of his hands as he did his best to control himself. </p><p>"You are stupid loyal to your brother," Quinlan said against his lips and Obi-Wan could only hum in agreement. "That kid is beyond lucky."</p><p>Ah, yes, this was a horrible location to attempt to have a conversation. Obi dug his fingers into the denim as he chased willingly after another kiss. He merely made a demanding sound when the man on him pulled back slightly. </p><p>"So impatient," Quinlan grinned and began to undo the buttons on Obi-Wan's pale blue shirt. Which was, naturally, when the lights in the room went out, plunging them into darkness. The fingers stilled for a moment and he found himself swearing. Had a fuse blown? He really did need to get an inspector in to look everything over. It just seemed so strange Qui-Gon would have ignored all these needed repairs, the man had loved this place.</p><p>A startled sound escaped him when Quinlan took the chance to undo his belt.</p><p>"Quin!"</p><p>"Yes, dear?"</p><p>"I need to go check the circuit breaker, get off!"</p><p>"Someone else will get it, now let's get you off," Quin grinned in the darkness while leaning forward for another kiss. Obi-Wan took the chance to bite the other to show how annoyed he was. The circuit breaker wasn't going to fix itself! That rebellious thought got knocked straight out of his head as their tongues wrestled. </p><p>"Hey," Anakin voiced filled the room as he pushed the bedroom open. "The power went out and- oh my God! Haven't you heard of locking your goddamn door?"</p><p>Obi-Wan wondered if he could just simply die of embarrassment, that would solve so much right now. The fact Quinlan took the chance to slide a hand under his shirt certainly wasn't helping matters in the least. Maybe he would just shove the idiot down the basement stairs?</p><p>"I was just about to go check the breaker," he managed to say in a calm voice. This was hardly a normal situation, but he was going to do his hardest to play it off like one. The hand was traveling, his shirt riding up as more buttons popped open. </p><p>"Yeah, cause it looks like you are about to fu-"</p><p>"Anakin!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Am I ever gonna actually write an episode investigating?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Obi-Wan tuned the noise out as he stared into Quinlan's eyes, entranced by the way colors seemed to bubble in them. Bursts of brilliance.</p><p>"Didn't take you for the type to encourage voyeurism," Quinlan whispered in a tone that promised an extremely physical time. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, flashed a grin, and shoved hard as Quin laughed loudly. The man landed nearly on top of Feemor who had been attempting to save the cords from spilled beer. Chaos, naturally, ensued.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A small apology for being a little slower on getting this one up. My mind has been like hopping from one thing to the next, plus pre-patch launched for WoW. I played hard and managed to pull myself free of the temptation to finally sit and write. I will say this chapter did what it wanted and I am not even mad. </p><p>Please enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i><br/>Maybe all the people who say ghosts don't exist are just afraid to admit that they do.</i><br/>-Michael Ende</p>
  <p>☆☆☆</p>
</div><p>The cameras kept dying and Obi-Wan could tell the crew was getting annoyed. Their agitated talking was a sure sign of that, plus there was the way Cody seemed to be pulling a camera apart to do some sort of repair. He sat as calmly as he could, next to Quinlan, while Feemor dug through a crate of supplies. Cody was whispering with Rex and he honestly couldn't spot Padmé. She was probably off doing more research. The file she was collecting was a bit ridiculous, but he hardly had any say in the events transpiring around him.</p><p>This was a weird evening. </p><p>He should have been researching transferring his college credits or doing something other than sitting next to Quinlan Vos while drinking. </p><p>"Halloween special," Quinlan mused out loud while playing with his phone. "Haunted Bed and Breakfast...where not all guests check out-" Obi-Wan choked on his beer and winced as the harsh carbonation burned his nose. That fucking hurt.</p><p>"Pardon? You make this place sound like a death trap," he shifted to grab the phone and Quin merely turned slightly so Obi-Wan ended up leaning against his back. He strained his free hand towards the phone, trying to stop whatever asinine message the ghost host was about to publish to the internet.</p><p>"Concord Dawn, where the hot innkeeper-"</p><p>"I will make sure you never check out," he growled while trying to reach around Quin to snag the phone. Laughter caressed his skin and he knew that his cheeks flushed instantly. </p><p>"Oh baby," Rex snickered before tossing a battery pack to Feemor, making Obi-Wan wish the couch would come to life and consume him. "If you two are gonna flirt, could you not in front of Cody? He's so inno- omph!" Cody landed a solid hit against his twin's side, which caused Feemor to just sigh. </p><p>"Could we all focus? We are having serious issues with our equipment, half the shit I filmed for reference is useless thanks to the cameras dying. We may have to change this to a live broadcast," Feemor paused to yank his long hair up into a messy bun at the back of his head. "The network has been wanting something like that. Live tweet Q&amp;A and random interviews mean we can buy time when our gear breaks yet again."</p><p>Quinlan paused in trying to keep his phone just out of Obi-Wan's reach and actually thought that idea over. "It is risky, but it would help our ratings...you don't have any guest slotted for Halloween, right?" </p><p>"...I haven't had a guest since I got back," he admitted in an annoyed voice. "Ani seems to think having you here will be good for business." </p><p>Quinlan smiled slowly as his eyes glinted with mischief. Oh no.</p><p>"Concord Dawn Bed and Breakfast has a dark secret and something haunts the young, sultry Innkeeper-" Obi-Wan managed to actually snag the phone, pulling it free of the idiot's hand. A yell escaped Quin and somehow they both tumbled backward. His back slammed into the couch while a body crashed into his front. The beer bottle slipped from his fingers, earning a yell from Feemor, and he lay there a tad stunned. </p><p>"Get the cords away from it-"</p><p>Obi-Wan tuned the noise out as he stared into Quinlan's eyes, entranced by the way colors seemed to bubble in them. Bursts of brilliance.</p><p>"Didn't take you for the type to encourage voyeurism," Quinlan whispered in a tone that promised an extremely physical time. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, flashed a grin, and shoved hard as Quin laughed loudly. The man landed nearly on top of Feemor who had been attempting to save the cords from spilled beer. Chaos, naturally, ensued. By the time everyone had calmed down, Quinlan finally back on the couch, Obi-Wan found himself curled up against the man's side while he read a book on his phone.</p><p>He must have fallen asleep at some point because he was very confused when a hand brushed some hair from his forehead. Grogginess was still latched onto his mind and he couldn’t quite decipher the words being spoken. He made a faint sound of confusion and was greeted with a chuckle.</p><p>“I said your phone is going off, you might want to get it,” Quinlan’s voice curled around his heart like an intoxicating fog. Obi-Wan groaned as he held a hand up, blindly, and felt the phone being slapped into his palm. He cracked his eyes open a tad before fumbling to answer the phone call. His finger hit the speaker icon and the sound of Garen’s voice filled the room.</p><p>“I called you ten fucking times,” his disgruntled friend snapped.</p><p>“What,” came his intelligent reply and Quinlan snorted faintly. </p><p>“...did I just wake you up? Jesus, man, it is only like- 11 at night? Listen, you finally picked up and I need to know the new code for the back door. Bant had too much to drink and Siri said you wouldn’t mind if we sort of crashed here...I’m at the back door.” </p><p>Obi-Wan blinked a few times before shifting slightly and felt his muscles scream in annoyance. Oh, damn, he had fallen asleep on the couch again. “Just use the key,” he finally grumbled, still half awake. </p><p>“Yeah, the key isn’t there.”</p><p>Well, that certainly made him wake up. Obi-Wan shot up into a seated position and nearly banged his forehead into Quinlan’s chin. How could the spare key be gone? He had been sure he had left it buried in the planter next to the door- Quinlan coughed faintly and realization dawned on him instantly.</p><p>“Anakin forgot the code again, didn’t he? Just gave you the stupid key,” he accused as he shifted on the couch. There was a part of him that realized he had been using Quinlan as a pillow, but that was hardly important at the moment, what was important was the key. </p><p>“Uh, no? I haven’t seen your brother-”</p><p>“I’m talking to Quin, Garen.”</p><p>There was a shocked silence from the phone before a very sloshed Bant decided it was time for her to add something to the conversation. Her voice was overly loud, the way most drunks were since they seemed to lose all semblance of volume control, and he pulled the phone away from him to lessen the blow. “Is that the hot one night stand that you want to climb again and the reason you don’t get laid?” Quinlan’s eyebrows shot up towards his hairline before a slow smirk appeared on his stupidly handsome face. Obi-Wan wondered just how many murders he could get away with before he was caught. The basement was rather large.</p><p>“Bant,” he stressed her name out like a warning.</p><p>“Obikins,” she responded before laughing. </p><p>“Please let me and Garen talk,” he hissed out and did his best to ignore the unsubdued look Quin was giving him. </p><p>“I don’t know- I kind of like where this was going,” Garen sounded like he was holding Bant back from saying more. “Now give me the code or come answer the door, I mean if you are decent. If I had known I was going to interrupt you finally getting some after all these years-”</p><p>“I’m getting the door, and stop. No. I’m dressed.”</p><p>“For now,” Quinlan said loudly and chaos erupted from his phone. Obi-Wan slammed the disconnect button as fast as he could and hurled his phone at the laughing idiot. Quin caught it easily enough with another smug look. “Don’t be like that, <i>Obikins</i>. I want to climb you too. I want to make you scream my name,” that voice took on a whole new depth that he felt all the way to his toes. Something in him wanted to do just that, had always wanted to do that again. Obi-Wan had spent years shoving Quinlan Vos to the darkest corners of his mind so he could focus on living his life and now the feelings, the memories, were stepping out into the light against his wishes. Damn the haunting. He narrowed his eyes before finally moving to go let his friends in through the backdoor. They could sleep on the floor for all he cared! </p><p>He honestly shouldn’t have been surprised that when he did finally manage to unlock the door and yank it open that Quinlan would make a show of invading his personal space. Garen’s eyes went wide as he took in the sight of Obi-Wan standing there with an arm around his waist and a chin resting on his shoulder. Quin gave the man a wink before pressing a kiss to Obes’ cheek, which caused Bant to let out the loudest shriek of delight any of them had ever heard. All three of them flinched hard at the noise and Obi-Wan couldn’t help wondering if they had just woken the neighbors. Those lungs were impressive and deadly.</p><p>“Just- get in here.”</p><p>He was going to poison them all at breakfast.</p><p>Garen ended up sleeping on the couch, saying he had to leave early in the morning for another run to the island so only wake him if someone was dying. His second intruder had made a beeline straight for his room, talking loudly about the plush blanket he had the whole way. She wanted to rub her face all over the softness. Quinlan had found it highly amusing, Obi-Wan had just been resigned. The situation was woefully out of his control. Bant passed out hard in the middle of Obi-Wan’s bed before he could stop her, something he was not entirely amused with. He knew from experience that she got clingy in her drunken sleep state and had no desire to share his bed with her. His teeth worried at his lower lip while he tried to untangle his current problem in his mind. He could, honestly, just sleep on the floor. He had done it before, but his back was already annoyed from his nap on the couch earlier. His other issue was the fact the blanket he would have used to sleep on the floor, the soft one, was tangled up in Bant’s arms. </p><p>“Sleep in my bed,” Quinlan said softly in an attempt not to wake the snoring Bant. Obi-Wan snorted at that idea, that seemed unwise for his self-control. “No, I’m serious. No pickup line, no suggestion. Just sleep in my bed tonight. I can go crash with Feemor so you don’t have to mess up another one of your rooms.” It wasn’t an awful idea and Quin had an extremely valid point. If he crashed in another room then his housekeeper would have more work to do, which was something he didn’t want her to deal with unneeded. A sigh escaped him and Quinlan took it clearly as a yes judging from the fact he found himself being pulled out of his own room by his wrist. </p><p>The trip was quick and silent, as not to disturb anyone else.</p><p>He paused just inside the doorway to Quinlan’s room and frowned faintly. “What are those?” His gaze had landed on a few drawings that had been taped to each wall. They looked like something out of one of those games Ani played. Symbols, intricate symbols. The linework was impressive and the coloring fascinating. Mystical.</p><p>“Just sketches,” Quin tugged him towards the bed. “I have nervous energy so sketching helps me sometimes.” Obi-Wan hummed faintly, they were detailed and completely foreign to him, yet somehow soothing. Then, as if his mind was just catching up, he realized Quinlan had shared something private with him. The feelings took another step forward in his mind, pushing past all his reservations. He wasn’t sure what possessed him, but he twisted so he could grab a handful of the man’s shirt. </p><p>“Do you have to go work,” the words tumbled from his lips unbidden. </p><p>“Not tonight, the guys are trying to figure out how to stop the power drainage issue so I told them to message me when-” He crashed his lips over Quinlan’s, not caring their noses hit painfully for a moment. He didn’t even care as Quin seemed to surge forward into the kiss, taking the action and pulling more from it with ease. A faint gasp escaped him as hands yanked his shirt free of his pants roughly and that opening was all Quinlan needed to fully invade his mouth. A leg ended up between his, tripping him, and the two crashed into the bed. Pillows went flying thanks to the impact, but all he could focus on was the fact he felt like he was burning up from the inside out. He needed his clothes off, he needed to feel, he needed to show Quinlan Vos what he felt.</p><p>He needed to burn with the other man.</p><p>“Sorry,” Quinlan pulled back slightly and Obi-Wan swore faintly in annoyance. Why now? “I said-”</p><p>“Shut up,” Obi-Wan leaned up to close the new distance. “I didn’t say stop.” That was all Quinlan needed to hear it seemed. A near heavenly smile graced the man’s face before he leaned down to completely cause Obi-Wan to come undone. The house, for once, didn’t do a single thing to interrupt them. All that existed was the euphoria that invaded his very soul and the sounds he somehow managed to coax from the con artist. His con artist. <i>His.</i></p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>Morning announced itself with zeal as his phone rang loudly from the floor. Obi-Wan groaned and tried to roll over to lean over the edge of the bed, but the arm around his waist tightened to near painful.<p>“Not allowed,” Quinlan’s gruff voice tickled the back of his neck and he flushed. “Not again. No more fuck and runs.”</p><p>“I’m not leaving-”</p><p>“Good.”</p><p>“I am trying to get my phone,” he tried to explain, but it seemed to also not be allowed. A startled sound escaped him as he was yanked away from the side of the bed. “Quin-” The ringing of the cell phone tuned out as Quinlan showed him just how thrilled he was to have woken up with Obi-Wan still in bed with him. The kiss was soft, painful in its raw emotion, and he just melted into the mattress even as the phone finally silenced. A faint sigh escaped him as a feeling of happiness settled somewhere inside of him and then the damn phone was ringing again. </p><p>“Quin, I need to get that.” </p><p>“Ugh, fine,” Quin groaned dramatically before collapsing on top of him. Obi-Wan grunted in annoyance before squirming so he could hang slightly off the edge of the bed. His fingers just touched the edge of the phone and he swore. Quinlan was a hindrance, clearly set on not helping. A few more annoying seconds passed with him straining towards the phone and then he managed to hook a finger against the lip of the case. He dragged the thing towards him while Quinlan let out a frustrated sound. </p><p>“I wanted to fuck again-”</p><p>Obi-Wan winced as he slapped his free hand over Quin’s mouth and used the one securing the phone to answer the call. “What,” he snapped without meaning to do so.</p><p>“Uh, Bant is in your bed and we are out of cereal. Where are you,” Anakin’s voice greeted him. “I want to go to the store and get more, but since you won’t let me drive-”</p><p>“You are far too young to drive. Can you wait long enough for me to get up? I need to shower, Ani.” </p><p>“Ooookay, but <i>where</i> are you,” his brother wasn’t going to drop this line of questioning it seemed. Quinlan grinned against his palm and he got a rather bad feeling about that. “And why is Bant in your bed?”</p><p>“She had a little too much to drink, Garen put her there-”</p><p>“Garen isn’t here?”</p><p>“He slept on the couch, I am sure he left for work already-”</p><p>“But where did you sleep-”</p><p>He had to quickly muffle a sound as Quinlan ghosted a hand just over his side. “I slept in one of the guest rooms, Ani. The faster you hang up, the faster I can get ready so we can go get your cereal.”</p><p>There was a moment of silence and he knew his brother was just assembling some puzzle in his mind. He had tried not to give too many facts, but Ani was annoyingly bright. He'd figure things out and it would bite Obi-Wan in the ass. His thought was proven painfully correct a mere moment later. </p><p>“Hi Quinlan.”</p><p>Obi-Wan blinked and let out a sound of surprise as the hand he was using to cover Quinlan’s mouth was forcibly removed.</p><p>“Hey there,” Quinlan said blithely. </p><p>“Did you two finally get it o-”</p><p>“Anakin, I’m hanging up. Go eat an apple while you wait!” Obi-Wan turned his phone off despite the protests from his younger brother. He lay there for a moment, debating how much energy it would take to shove Quinlan off the bed. “You, sir, are the worst.” Quinlan burst out laughing before pulling him in for another kiss. Anakin could wait a few more moments...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>(｡♥‿♥｡)<br/>I am awkward AF at writing some things, so alluding to it is what you all get.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Obi-Wan sat there stunned for a moment as he digested the information. Mace Windu thought he was too educated to let someone like Quinlan Vos into the Concord Dawn and that was inappropriately funny. Mace Windu also thought he didn't have connections, that bit smarted.</p><p>"Ah, well, he isn't lying," he finally said a tad softly. </p><p>"What was that," Mace actually raised an eyebrow.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter demanded to get finished before I could work on any of my other stories. Who am I to argue?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i>It's easier to dismiss ghosts in the daylight.</i><br/>
-Patricia Briggs</p>
  <p>☆☆☆</p>
</div>His timing was awful and that was clearly the only explanation for him standing in Quinlan's doorway while he stared at a very shocked Padmé. Her arms were hugging her basket of toiletries as she damn near vibrated with the need to squeal. She had caught him basically doing a walk of shame and he hadn't even made it a few paces down the hall!<p>This morning was off to a fantastic start.</p><p>"Go on," he finally said softly. That was all the permission she seemed to need because she let out a near scream of joy. Obi-Wan recoiled hard and wondered at the sanity of letting her scream, the whole building probably heard that. He could hear Quinlan swear behind him and then tumble out of the bed in an attempt to throw some clothes on.</p><p>"I can't believe I am watching a real romance story play out in front of me," the intern gushed. "I signed up to make my college application even more impressive and unique, but this is even better. Are you dating? Has he told you he loves you-"</p><p>"Padmé, " he chided ever so faintly and was honestly impressed at how she reined herself in. The clear fangirl turned into a poised young lady in seconds as she flashed him a smile. </p><p>He needed a shot of whiskey in his coffee later.</p><p>"I think it is wonderful and Cody owes me fifty dollars. I know it is wrong to bet on someone's love life, but thank you. I am the winner of the betting pool. I need to also get my money from Siri."</p><p>There had been a betting pool on when he would finally hook up with Quinlan?</p><p>"Shouldn't you be bothering Rex and Cody," Quinlan's voice caressed his ear as he felt a weight settle into his back. Ah, Quinlan was finally out of bed.</p><p>"I'm just dating Rex, Quin, I don't know how many times I need to remind you," the young woman bristled. Quin merely snorted before nuzzling his nose just below Obi-Wan's ear. Her cheeks turned a bright pink before she leveled them both with a look that could only be deciphered as unamused. She turned on her heel, flinging her braid over her shoulder as did so, and stomped off towards the bathroom.</p><p>"Jesus," Obi-Wan breathed out. "Did you know they were betting on us?"</p><p>"Oh, yeah. They weren't exactly secretive," Quinlan chuckled. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes before turning enough to give Quin a quick kiss goodbye. Time to go shower and then deal with a most likely overly inquisitive Anakin.</p><p>Things, thankfully, managed to go somewhat normal after he finally managed to take Anakin to buy the ever-important cereal. A sort of routine settled over the Concord Dawn, one he fell into easily without trying. Life was...nice. Well, as nice as it could be with the supposed haunting picking up whenever he snuck out of Quinlan's room yet again. </p><p>Obi-Wan still protested that the place wasn't haunted and everyone, naturally, ignored him. The house was trying really hard to turn him into a believer.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>"Try not to do anything stupid," he remarked while pointing a finger at first Anakin and then Quinlan. Anakin snorted before slouching down in the chair he was sitting on. His little brother did his best to cross his arms, something made a tad difficult by the cast he sported. He had been out running errands, that Quin had decided to tag along for when he had received the call from Ani's school.<p>He was a tad surprised he hadn't received more calls. Anakin could be a handful.</p><p>"Have some faith, Obes," Quinlan smirked before stretching his legs out. "We are hardly going to get in trouble so close to the Principal's office." Obi-Wan pursed his lips for a moment and then finally nodded. He still wasn't sure he believed whatever had happened had needed him to be called in to meet the principal, but he would get to the bottom of this. </p><p>"Principal Windu will see you now," the peppy secretary said with a smile. The near hearts he could see in her eyes had him practically hugging the door frame as he moved around her to get into the office. </p><p>"Ah, Mr. Kenobi, first I want to offer my apologies for calling you in, and second, it is nice to see you again, despite the circumstances," Mace Windu greeted him while the door closed with a loud snap. Obi-Wan flashed him a tight smile before sinking into a chair across from him. </p><p>"Thank you, I didn't expect to ever be sitting across from you again in this particular setting," he turned his charm up to eleven and enjoyed how his old principal snorted with both amusement and exasperation. They both played poker once every other week together with a few other people from the town. "I still fail to see why I am being called in over some English paper my brother is working on. Please enlighten me."</p><p>Mace folded his hands on the desk while giving Obi-Wan a clear look of assessment. "Your brother has been acting out slightly, telling fabrications, which the counselor thinks stems from the loss of his father. I am sure it is a phase, but I think it might be in everyone's best interest if we allow someone to come to do a home assessment-"</p><p>Obi-Wan felt like the walls were closing in around him. His ability to raise his brother was being called into question and he had to wonder if his Grandfather had any hand in this. "Principal Windu," he interrupted. "Before I entertain an idea like that, I think I should at least know what <i>lies</i> you <i>think</i> my brother is telling."</p><p>Mace, for his part, didn't even look apologetic as he nodded. "Of course. Anakin has started an elaborate lie about how your home is haunted." Obi-Wan felt his jaw twitch. "And has even gone as far as to say you've allowed some ghost hunters to take up residence in your place. Now, Obi-Wan, I know you were a tad… fanciful when you first came to this school, but you grew up to be a well adjusted young man, so there is no reason you'd call in ghost hunters. Besides, he claims it is some famous show- Ghost Sensors, and a show like that would take months to set up, and frankly no one in your family, outside of Yan, has the type of connections required to get a major network show to visit this town- I am afraid he is crafting a world to hide from his trauma."</p><p>Obi-Wan sat there stunned for a moment as he digested the information. Mace Windu thought he was too educated to let someone like Quinlan Vos into the Concord Dawn and that was inappropriately funny. Mace Windu also thought he didn't have connections, that bit smarted.</p><p>"Ah, well, he isn't lying," he finally said a tad softly. </p><p>"What was that," Mace actually raised an eyebrow.</p><p>"Quinlan and his crew are staying with us for the moment. Ani contacted them and the rest just sort of happened, so it is safe to say my brother is hardly lying. I just never thought the need to bring it up during poker. Now about this supposed English paper that I got called in for-"</p><p>Mace gave him a look before leaning forward slightly. "Obi-Wan, are you lying to protect your brother or yourself? A home assessment is hardly a bad thing." </p><p>Lying. </p><p>He was now being accused of lying! Okay, yes, as a kid he had told some tall tales, something Mace clearly remembered, but that was forever ago.</p><p>"Are you serious?" There was a buzzing in his ears as he tried to grapple with the fact he respected Mace, had even kept in contact after he left town, but he now he very much wanted to punch the man.</p><p>"There are concerns, Obi-Wan. Several teachers, especially his English one-" <i>Satine.</i> Damn it. He winced, held up a hand, and got out of his chair. He walked quickly to the office door and yanked it open. His glare must have been thunderous because both Quinlan and Anakin paled under his gaze. He could hear Mace behind him sighing. Good, the man could suffocate on his sighs right now.</p><p>"You, get in here, now," he pointed at Quinlan. His boyfriend- wait they had never talked about what they were- got up and shot Anakin a questioning look. Ani merely shrugged since he had no idea what was going on. The second Quin was close enough Obi-Wan snagged his hand, yanking him into the office rather hard. Scuffed boots left a clear mark on the floor and he honestly didn't care. </p><p>"Principal Windu, may I present Quinlan Vos, host of Ghost Sensors?" Mace blinked and then blinked again. The man picked up the file that had clearly been drawn up on Anakin's supposed misdeeds and he simply threw it into a box labeled for shredding. </p><p>"Well," Mace said slowly. "I think some apologies are in order. I am sorry I suggested you-"</p><p>"Me? Principal Windu, you just said my brother is a liar! How long has this supposed problem been going on if you had a file? I should have been approached at once, but no. Your school waited until the point you wanted to have a fucking home assessment done!" Obi-Wan was aware his voice was taking on a hard tone and he was hardly surprised when Quin quickly shut the door to the office so Anakin couldn't hear what was being said. "Mace, I respect you, but what the fuck?"</p><p>Mace gave him an unimpressed look before speaking. "I didn't think it was exactly an issue until Ms. Kryze brought the paper to my attention-"</p><p>"Hey, isn't that the chick that wants you," Quin interrupted and Obi-Wan instantly regretted pulling the man into the office.</p><p>"Just give me the paper and ignore Quin." He held his hand out for said paper and practically ripped it from Mace's when was held up. He sank down into a chair again before turning his full attention to whatever his little brother had written. He could hear Mace and Quinlan talking about the show, it seemed Windu watched religiously because, of course, he did. His teeth began to worry at his lower lip as he read each word of the essay. The assignment was about family history and each sentence painted an extremely cursed home. </p><p>Oh, Anakin.</p><p>He had written about Xanatos.</p><p>Obi-Wan breathed out hard through his nose before crushing the paper in his hands. "We just lost our father and she assigned this? Mace, you know as well as I do that this was inappropriate. He should have been exempt or given a different topic- also I fail to see how him laying out how much death we've suffered calls into need for help from outside sources."</p><p>"Satine thought he was exaggerating some of it and the parts she highlighted pointed towards depression," Mace said calmly and that, for some reason, just annoyed Obi-Wan. </p><p>"There is nothing wrong with this paper or Anakin's home life," he bit out. "I don't appreciate the school trying to meddle with things when they don't even have the foresight to at least tell me there might be a problem!"</p><p>"Perhaps Mr. Vos should go outside, Obi-Wan, this isn't a conversation for some stranger to listen in on-"</p><p>"Eh, we are sleeping together," Quinlan shrugged and they both watched as Mace actually facepalmed at that announcement. Well, it appeared that type of reaction didn't just happen in the movies! Obi-Wan wasn't exactly thrilled at having his love life pulled into this, but he wasn't mad either.</p><p>"Quin, that wasn't exactly-"</p><p>"Ah. I think I get it now," Mace said softly. "Anakin is free to go back to class, unless you'd like to take him home for today, and I think I need to sit down with Satine. Obi-Wan, I am sorry. I wasn't aware of how much this had spiraled until the paper landed on my desk."</p><p>Obi-Wan tossed the paper on the desk as he stood up. "I… am not mad at you, Mace. You were doing your job, but if this happens again-" He almost said he would transfer Anakin. Damn it. "Be sure to ask Satine if she has been talking with my Grandfather about these concerns. I know they get along," he said with forced politeness. "And Mace? People meddle." </p><p>They all said their goodbyes, Mace promising they were still on for poker night, and Obi-Wan barely paused outside the office when he told Anakin to hurry up. They were all going home and he was going to do his best not to yell at anyone. As a child, he had been prone to tantrums, and right now he really wanted to scream and break things.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>"Grandfather, I need to ask you a question," he said softly while watching Anakin follow Rex around rather like a duckling.<p>"Yes, my dear boy?" </p><p>"Are you still in contact with the Kryzes?" There was a silence and he knew his answer. Satine probably didn't have anything to do with this on purpose. Her father was most likely in cahoots with Yann and she had fallen for the trap.</p><p>"We talk sometimes, you know they are a close family friend. Their girl, Satine, had such a crush on you when you were both younger. It is a shame your father didn't want to interact with them more," his Grandfather said in a distracted tone. He was obviously doing something else, which wasn't surprising, the man was always busy.</p><p>"I see. I am not going to date Satine." Quinlan snorted next to him but didn't say a word. </p><p>"I hardly brought that idea up, but now that you mention it, it would not hurt for you and Satine to at least get to know each other more. She is a fine young woman and she does appear to care about Anakin." Ah, there it was, confirmation his Grandfather was meddling. He settled on just giving a faint hum of neither agreement nor disagreement. Satine was a pawn, a lovely one, and now he was going to have to deal with the mess. </p><p>"I have to go, thank you for taking my call."</p><p>"Of course, Obi-Wan. You know I shall always make time for you."</p><p>"Anakin says hello."</p><p>"I am sure he does," and then the phone disconnected. Obi-Wan sat there for a moment and seriously debated spiking his phone off the floor. </p><p>"My Grandfather is setting it up so I have to transfer Anakin to some posh private school."</p><p>"Nice dude," Quinlan said with so much sarcasm that Obi-Wan actually laughed. "I'm guessing the whole trip to school was partly his fault?"</p><p>"Oh, definitely. Fuck. Don't let a word of this slip to Ani. I'll handle it…"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed!! Clearly I have a problem and enjoy making Obes' life slightly difficult?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"So we aren't working tonight," that was a tad surprising. Halloween was hurtling towards them, which meant the live show would take up their time very soon. The show, he had to admit, could either solidify or destroy their reputations. </p><p>"No...and, Quin, Anakin doesn't want you to worry Obes with this, but we all heard something in the basement. I think that is why he wants to go out to dinner." That wasn't good. Quinlan had hidden wards around Obi-Wan's room, placing the last one this morning, and now everyone was hearing noises from the basement. The ghost was not amused.</p><p>"Tell the network we will have a special guest."</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>THE HAPPIEST OF HALLOWEEEEEENS~! </p><p>I hope you and yours are safe and healthy. Seriously. </p><p>(＾ω＾) GET SPOOKY, EAT CANDY, HAVE FUN!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p><i>Why do they say ghosts are cold? Mine are warm, a breath dampening your cheek, a voice when you thought you were alone.</i><br/>
― Julie Buntin</p>
  <p>☆☆☆</p>
</div><p>It was an item here and an object there. </p><p>He liked to think of it as the cousin of the old leave behind trick, except instead of using an object as an excuse to see a person again he was basically just making it so he moved in. The more he got in before the other objected, the more he had to argue with. Obi-Wan hadn’t said a word the morning he found Quinlan’s toothbrush in the ensuite bathroom. Quin had tried to play it cool, tried to act like tiny warning sirens weren’t going off in his head, but Obes had just kind of malfunctioned for a mere moment. A pause, a blink, and then he was reaching for his own toothbrush without a word. Well, now he was never getting rid of him now!</p><p>If he didn’t object to the toothbrush, Quinlan rationalized, then they were living together.</p><p>He was currently stretched out on <i>their</i> bed while Obi-Wan was sitting on the floor, going through some box of something or other. The tv was on with a campy 80’s monster movie and, honestly, he had no desire to move from where he was lounging. Well, no, he did want to have Obes in the bed with him, but that could wait. He let his teeth worry at one sparkly painted orange nail while he scrolled through the message board from his phone. Cody had been posting little snippets all week from the official Twitter account and he knew he had also been using his personal account to post things. Quin was the one who used social media the least to promote the show, everyone else did enough of it, but he did make an appearance every now and then. It had honestly been sheer luck that he had been logged in when Anakin had messaged all those nights ago. </p><p>“Quin, I can hear you thinking from here,” Obi-Wan called out softly. </p><p>“I need a beer to be reading these messages,” he admitted. “Quinlan69 thinks the town of Concordia is hashtag like so adorable.” A snort of laughter escaped the ginger-haired man on the floor before there was a long pause. </p><p>“Wait,” Obi-Wan shifted to look back towards the bed, snowglobe in his hand. “People know you are in Concordia?” </p><p>“...uh, yes? Everyone on the team has been posting pictures, selfies, whatever. I think Padmé has been doing live updates from the library, oh, and the coffee shop. Rex posted a pic of those adorable little pies you had for breakfast earlier.” He could see the instant Obi-Wan was annoyed. That perfect mouth opened to bitch at him and he merely grinned. “It is good advertising for both of us. Siri said you are starting to get requests for people to stay.” Lips pursed, a faint hum of disapproval, and then Obi-Wan was turning back to the box in front of him. Quinlan knew he had barely won this round and felt it wise to not mention that Anakin may or may not have appeared in a few of the twin’s posts. The twins loved the kid and Quin knew it was going to be difficult for any of them to leave this place. </p><p>His lips curled into a faint smile as he went back to reading some of the messages. </p><p><b>TruBeliever</b> <i>So the rumors r true! They r doing a live episode. Do you think we r going to see an actual ghost?</i></p><p><b>MissVos</b> <i>I HOPE QUINLAN GETS THE MOST AIR TIME. why do you think he went to a bed n breakfast? aren’t those like from the past? Old people use them</i></p><p><b>gHoStLoVeR</b> <i>Did anyone else notice the teenager? Is he part of the show? Rex (MY HUBS) totally took a selfie with him and like there was a guy in the background? Who is that? The website for the B&amp;B doesn’t say who runs it T_T WHO ARE THEY HELPING?</i> </p><p><b>EmoGhoul</b> <i>Do u think ghosts can haunt other ghosts? Like is that wrong?</i></p><p><b>breakfastburrito</b> <i>i want more pics of the dude. he looks hot. also concordia looks like it has some history with some war. guessing there will be ghosts of soldiers. lame.  give a girl something new!</i></p><p>Quinlan snorted and could feel Obi-Wan glancing at him again. “Yes, dear?” </p><p>“What exactly are you doing,” the Innkeeper finally asked while standing up, placing an object back in the box. “Besides somehow weaseling your way into my room. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that all your stuff is in here.” </p><p>“Ah, but you didn’t stop me.” Quinlan didn’t even need to look up from his phone screen to know the look he was getting was not amused. His lips twitched as he heard a rather defeated sigh. </p><p>“Yes, well, that is beside the point,” Obi-Wan finally moved away from the box and walked over to his closet. He flung the door open with far more dramatics than Quinlan thought was possible. Impressive! His boyfriend stood there, hand on his hip, and then waved the other hand towards the startling difference between their clothes. “You’ve even taken over half my closet. Quin, do you realize I almost grabbed one of your shirts this morning?”</p><p>“And I bet you’d look fucking sexy in it,” Quin quipped back with a smirk. He could feel the unamused groan that escaped Obi-Wan all the way down to his toes. "You can't get rid of me. Deal with it."</p><p>Obi-Wan brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, clearly stopping himself from saying something scathing. "Quin," he managed to say in a slightly calm voice. "You do realize most people talk these types of things over? Discuss the major milestones."</p><p>"So you do think it is major for us," Quinlan threw his phone down on the bed as he sat up with a devious look on his face. "You agree we live together?"</p><p>"Yes, but-"</p><p>Quinlan didn't give an inch of room for the other to argue their way out of this. "You like having me around."</p><p>"I do, but-" </p><p>He slipped off the bed, stepped around some books on the ground, and made his way over to Obes. "You didn't kick me out the first night. You should know better, that is how stray cats become a family pet," he purred out, invading the other's space. He enjoyed the way those cheeks shaded and how that gaze diverted away.</p><p>"Quin, you are hardly a cat."</p><p>"You said we live together." </p><p>"And what of your crew?"</p><p>That made his brows knit together as he actually paused in his line of attack. "I travel a decent amount, as do they, but they are hardly going to object to visiting us here for Christmas." A startled laugh escaped the Innkeeper. </p><p>"Quin, we are going to England for Christmas!"</p><p>"We are?"</p><p>"I meant Ani and me, Grandfather is quite insistent." Quinlan snorted and then his phone was going off. He pressed a quick kiss to Obi-Wan's lips before moving to see who was trying to call him.</p><p>"We'll discuss Christmas plans later, but I'm not moving out," he flashed a grin before answering his phone as a clear means of ending the conversation. Obi-Wan simply sighed, but he could see the way his lips curled in an affectionate smile. He had won. "What?"</p><p>"Network wants to send more equipment for the live broadcast," Cody's voice filled his ear. "And Anakin said we are all going out for pizza tonight. I made reservations."</p><p>"So we aren't working tonight," that was a tad surprising. Halloween was hurtling towards them, which meant the live show would take up their time very soon. The show, he had to admit, could either solidify or destroy their reputations. </p><p>"No...and, Quin, Anakin doesn't want you to worry Obes with this, but we all heard something in the basement. I think that is why he wants to go out to dinner." That wasn't good. Quinlan had hidden wards around Obi-Wan's room, placing the last one this morning, and now everyone was hearing noises from the basement. The ghost was not amused.</p><p>"Tell the network we will have a special guest. I'm bringing Asajj in." A beat of silence met him before Cody was swearing. </p><p>"Have you told Feemor?"</p><p>"No...I was hoping you could?"</p><p>"Pass. I'm not falling on that sword for you. You want to invite the witch, fine, but you are telling Feemor. I think they are in the outs right now," Cody's voice sounded vengeful in his ear. Damn. This wasn't going to be pretty.</p><p>"Fine. I'll tell him at dinner." The laughter was instant and he knew Cody was on to him. If he broke the news at the restaurant then Feemor couldn't murder him. Far too many witnesses. He hung the phone up, sighed, and wondered why things couldn't just go smoothly now that he finally had Obi-Wan. </p><p>"Who is Asajj," Obi-Wan asked. Quinlan glanced over and realized he was back at the whole sorting through the box thing.</p><p>"A witch. She works with us now and again. Oh, and she is Feemor's… ex?" </p><p>"I see," Obi-Wan fixed him with a questioning look. "I am gathering that you do this often. Move people around like chess pieces." Ouch.</p><p>"Okay, first off, rude. Cody just told me they have broken up again so really this isn't my fault. Second, Anakin said we are all going out to dinner. Something about pizza?" A snort of laughter was his reward and then Obi-Wan was pulling his phone out, fingers tapped away quickly at some message. "What are you doing?"</p><p>"Giving you a taste of your own medicine. Siri, Bant, Garen are now invited as well."</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>“Anakin,” Obi-Wan raised his voice slightly, but it did little to stop his younger brother from rushing ahead. He let the sigh overtake him for a moment as he watched Anakin disappear through the door of the pizza parlor.<p>“Don’t worry, boss,” Cody gave him a mocking salute. “We will make sure your brother is fine.” Both Rex and Cody took off at a half run after Anakin and he could only shake his head. The jokes had started shortly after he and Quinlan had made the mistake of walking down the exact same staircase together into the kitchenette. Somehow his private part of the Concord Dawn had been thoroughly invaded by the Ghost Sensors crew. The largest problem he had was the fact he didn’t mind it one bit. Anakin was animated in the morning and the tendrils of darkness were slowly slipping away from both of them. Oh, he still had moments where the grief was suffocating, where he thought he would fall to his knees, but somehow Quinlan was there. Somehow they were all there. His heart ached. They were somehow like family now and he wasn’t sure how it had happened. </p><p>When they left, it would break him and Anakin.</p><p>“They do know I am not their boss,” he asked rhetorically. Feemor snorted before jamming his hands into the pockets of his navy blue peacoat. The air had taken on a pleasant chill that not everyone was adjusting well to, most likely because they probably fared from warmer sections of the country. “I just need to make a call, it is fine.” Feemor searched his face before giving a jerky nod. Why was everyone being so overprotective? He could only watch in mild amusement while the rest of the group followed after the others until only he and Quinlan remained outside.</p><p>“Are your friends joining us,” Quin rested his chin on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, breath tickling his neck. </p><p>“Mm, they said they would try and make it. Bant is working a bit late at the vets and Garen said he had one more shipment to run. Siri will do as she pleases,” he pulled the text conversation back up and frowned. </p><p>“Aw, she used a sad face emoji. You are breaking her heart, Obes.”</p><p>“Most helpful, thank you.” He pursed his lips together and fired off another message to Satine. He still wasn’t positive how she had managed to get his phone number, most likely his Grandfather, but he had been spending a fair amount of time trying to politely tell her nothing was going to happen between them. </p><p>“I know a way to make her back off,” Quin whispered next to his ear. </p><p>“Is it chaotic and most likely to blow up in my face somehow?”</p><p>“Actually...yes!” The sheer delight in the other’s voice sent a wave of warmth through him. He was a rational man, for the most part, and enjoyed planning things out, but Satine’s lack of understanding was starting to get to him. What had his Grandfather been saying that made her think she had a chance? “She follows me on Insta.”</p><p>“Insta?” What the fuck was Insta?</p><p>“Instagram, Obes. Jesus, you really are an old man trapped in that hot body. Do you even use social media,” Quinlan’s exasperation was clearly obvious in his voice.</p><p>“Uh, no, not really. I just...text people if I want to talk.” Quin made a sound of annoyance before growing oddly silent for a moment. He glanced towards his boyfriend, raised an eyebrow, and was somehow completely caught off guard when he was yanked in for a kiss. The kiss was pleasant, but the flash of light had him tensing. Quinlan pulled away with an apologetic smile and turned his full attention to his phone.</p><p>“Obes...if I post this-” Words tapered off and he felt his stomach sink ever so slightly. “Everyone is going to know.”</p><p>“Know what,” he asked despite somehow knowing the answer.</p><p>“That we are dating.”</p><p>“Oh, are we? We never actually talked about it,” he couldn’t help the faint tease. His eyes widened as Quinlan gave him a very unimpressed look while holding up the phone screen for him to see. A picture, a simple picture, of them, kissing, and a single purple heart emoji underneath next to three letters. O.W.K. His gaze flickered from the picture to Quinlan’s face and an eyebrow shot up in challenge. Quin narrowed his eyes and very slowly moved his finger until it brushed the post feature. Shit. He knew he shouldn’t have played chicken with the man, but he wasn’t sure if he was upset or not. That was a very effective way to let Satine know he really did mean it when he said he didn’t want to go to a movie or the like. “Ah. I see we are clearly dating now.”</p><p>Quinlan made a strange strangled laugh noise before tackling him. Their lips met, bursts of light exploding in his mind, and he realized he felt lighter somehow. He was dating Quinlan Vos, Hell, he was living with Quinlan Vos. The man was a con artist of the finest caliber and he-</p><p>Several loud yells interrupted both his train of thought and the kiss. Obi-Wan yanked back and glanced towards the pizzeria doorway where everyone was erupting out of it rather like a pack of hyenas. Oh, dear. Their phones were out, the words incoherent, and he promptly took a step to the side and then back. Quinlan stepped in front of him with a laugh.</p><p>“Calm down!” Quinlan’s hands came up in a sort of beseeching motion.</p><p>“YOU POSTED!” Cody didn’t even try to control the volume of his voice. Feemor simply gave them a thumbs up.</p><p>“The kiss-” Padmé sighed out dreamily as Rex pulled her flush against his side. He looked less than enthused, most likely because she would now want some ridiculous romantic gesture.</p><p>“Did you have to right before dinner-” Anakin sounded both disgusted and annoyed. </p><p>Obi-Wan could only blink. They all knew. They all fucking knew. “Quin, just how many people follow you exactly?” His hand twisted in the back of the soft oversized cable knit sweater the man was wearing. Wait, was this his sweater? </p><p>“I did warn you,” Quinlan said softly. That was about the time the phone in Quinlan’s hand started vibrating non stop as notification after notification began to come through. </p><p>“I suppose you did…” And then his phone started going off in his pocket.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Quinlan is chaos and Obi-Wan is along for the ride. </p><p>Also, writing the message posts was way harder than I thought? lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Anakin, for his part, let out an interesting sentence comprised solely of swear words.</p><p>"Language," Obi-Wan scolded instantly. </p><p>"That's rich, you swear more than anyone I know," Anakin grumbled while fumbling with his seatbelt.</p><p>"Yes, well, I am an adult. I am allowed."</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Allow me to yeet this chapter in existence!!! <br/>This fic has gone on way longer than I thought it would and I am delighted af. </p><p>Thank you for reading this and enjoying the chaos.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i></i>
</p><div class="center">
  <p><i>To be haunted is to glimpse a truth that might best be hidden.</i><br/>-James Herbert</p>
  <p>☆☆☆☆</p>
</div><b>ColorMeWind</b> <i>Did you see that post? He didn't give a full name tho. Is that who is haunted? I'd haunt them.</i><p>
  <b>quinlan69</b>
  <i> WHAT WHAT WHAT MY BOO NOOO HOW DARE</i>
</p><p>
  <b>MrsVos</b>
  <i> but who is it???</i>
</p><p>
  <b>ghosthost</b>
  <i> OMG. Now we have to watch the Halloween special. We need to know who to hate!</i>
</p><p>
  <b>ilikeghostss</b>
  <i> #tragic</i>
</p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>His phone hadn't stopped going off, not since that image upload a couple of days ago. Obi-Wan had debated just turning the thing off. He didn't, of course. He had even debated throwing it into the basement. He also didn't do that, of course. He did, however, do his best to take up as much of the bed each night by mimicking a starfish as revenge. Quin simply looked amused and found ways to cling to him. <p>He hated his phone.</p><p>He hated that Quinlan was amused and unbothered by his own phone going off.</p><p>The buzzing of the vibrating phone on the desk near his elbow had him groaning. Would it ever end? Half the town felt the need to message him and he fully blamed his friends. The nonstop texts from them were only increasing in volume the longer he ignored them and they had to be roping others in on their cause. If he wasn't careful, he knew, Bant and Garen were going to show up on his doorstep again. He finally cast a glance towards the offending object only to have his stomach sink with mild dread. That was a call he couldn't really ignore, even if he was working on figuring how much food to order next month. The Concord Dawn was finally getting reservations and now he had to do his job. Obi-Wan snagged the phone and slid the accept to the side. </p><p>"Grandfather," he winced at the way his voice sounded exasperated. This was already off to a fantastic start.</p><p>"Obi-Wan, is this an inopportune moment," his Grandfather sounded amused. How odd.</p><p>"No, I have merely picked up an aversion to my phone lately." That wasn't a lie at all. He honestly didn't know how Quinlan put up with the constant bombardment of notifications. </p><p>"I am sure," Yan drawled out dryly. "That has something to do with why I called you, my dear boy."</p><p>The room came to a screeching silence as he blinked. </p><p>Grandfather knew.</p><p>Somehow Grandfather knew.</p><p>There was no way the old man knew.</p><p>He hadn't told him!</p><p>"Will your acquaintance be joining us for Yule? Would it, perhaps, be easier if I came to you?" The words didn't translate right in his head. Obi-Wan had to be mishearing things. There was no way his Grandfather was offering to come to the Concord Dawn for the holidays. The dislike of being back in Concordia was something Dooku embraced proudly.  "Obi-Wan," the tone was chiding.</p><p>Ah. He had been silent far too long.</p><p>"Just Yule?" He winced. </p><p>"Well, if you prefer I come sooner I can make the time. I am interested in meeting the person that has somehow managed to make you show such public affection."</p><p>Holy shit. </p><p>This really was about Quinlan.</p><p>"Grandfather, how did-"</p><p>"Really, my boy? The man is famous in his own right and people talk. An acquaintance saw the picture and recognized you. I am a tad wounded you didn't tell me first, but I suppose I understand… I was attempting to get you with the Kryze girl."</p><p>"...I-" His throat felt oddly dry all of a sudden. He felt strangely guilty. Obi-Wan breathed in through his nose and then slowly out his mouth as he tried to remain calm. His Grandfather had been trying to manipulate a relationship, that was now confirmed, but the man didn't seem upset about Quin. His Grandfather approved?</p><p>Sounds from elsewhere started to filter into the office, distracting him faintly. </p><p>This was a surreal phone call. </p><p>"Obi-Wan, I know our relationship can be strained at times, but you can actually converse with me. If it is alright with you… I would like to bring a dear friend of mine with me." Dear friend? What dear friend? </p><p>"Grandfather." Obi-Wan rubbed the back of his neck with a hand as he frowned. "I didn't plan on hiding this, it just.."</p><p>"Happened?" The amused tone was back.</p><p>"Yes. As for bringing a friend, I can set aside a room for them-"</p><p>"That is quite alright, Obi-Wan, he and I can share my suite." His hand froze on his neck as he tried to understand what he had just heard. "I'll send you flight information so you can pick us up when we arrive." And then the call just ended.</p><p>What the fuck had just happened?</p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>He stared blankly ahead, not quite seeing anything. When the car door was yanked open he finally blinked. "Grandfather plans on visiting," he blurted out instead of greeting his brother properly.<p>Anakin, for his part, let out an interesting sentence comprised solely of swear words.</p><p>"Language," Obi-Wan scolded instantly. </p><p>"That's rich, you swear more than anyone I know," Anakin grumbled while fumbling with his seatbelt.</p><p>"Yes, well, I am an adult. I am allowed." He shifted the car into drive and waited for his brother to start ranting. He didn't have to wait long. Anakin was predictable to a fault about some things.</p><p>"Why? He hasn't visited like once in forever. He didn't even come to dad's funeral! Is he going to make you close the Concord Dawn? I know he hates me!"</p><p>"Whoa, slow down there, Ani." And there was the headache. "Grandfather doesn't hate you, I'm not closing the Concord Dawn."</p><p>"Then why is he coming to visit? What did you do?"</p><p>He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eyes and frowned. </p><p>"Why the kriff do you think I did something?" Anakin gave him a very incredulous look and rolled his eyes hard enough that Obi-Wan's ached in sympathy. "Fine. He wants to meet Quin."</p><p>The silence that filled the car was impressive. </p><p>"What," Anakin finally squeaked. "You told him about Quin? Oh my fucking-"</p><p>"Language! And, ah, no. He saw the picture." A faint wince escaped him. "So now he is coming to visit with a <i>friend.</i>"</p><p>"Friend? Why are you saying it like that? What friend?" Jesus, Anakin really could miss the point sometimes. </p><p>"His lover, Anakin."</p><p>And that was when Anakin somehow lost control of his volume as he began yelling in the car. Good arm waving wildly as incomprehensible words fell from his lips. Obi-Wan may have put his foot down harder on the gas. Arriving at the doctors couldn't come fast enough. When they did make it to the office he spent his time in the waiting room clearing the notifications off his phone. He didn't even bother reading most of the messages, just deleted them without a second thought. His thumb hovered over the screen when he noticed the text message chain from Satine. Perhaps it was morbid curiosity or maybe it was something else, but he actually opened that one. </p><p>She was furious. </p><p>Obi-Wan's brow furrowed as he read message after message from her. Grandfather seemed fine with his relationship, but Satine? Satine was not handling the news well. The bit about them getting married had him flushing with annoyance. The fantasy she had crafted was ridiculous and disturbing. </p><p>
  <i>I'll expose him for the man he really is. He isn't good enough for you!</i>
</p><p>He deleted the messages while a silent rage began to grow inside his chest. He didn't exactly want to pull Quinlan into this unneeded drama, but he figured he probably should. That was how relationships worked, right? People shared both joy and burden. That and the matter did concern Quin.</p><p>Fuck. </p><p>Why was nothing ever easy?</p><p>"Obes," Anakin cried happily as he burst out into the waiting room. He glanced up from his phone and grinned. At least someone was happy.</p><p>"My, what a pale arm you have," he teased. His brother made a rude gesture that caused an older lady in the room to snicker. "Come on, let me pay and we can pick up pizza for everyone."</p><p>"Score. Also, I have exercises I need to do and physical therapy, so add that to your calendar, aka be my bitch." The lady snickered again and Obi-Wan just sighed. He loved his brother, honest. Ani was beyond animated, probably feeling the high of finally being cast free and Obi-Wan merely smiled indulgently before moving to actually pay the co-pay and set up appointments as ordered. The road to recovery wasn't over.</p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>Obi-Wan swirled the pear schnapps in his glass and wondered faintly how much he'd need to drink to pass out. The stuff didn't even taste like alcohol, instead tasting rather like what he thought a melted pear would resemble.<p>"What's wrong," Quin bumped their shoulders together while asking his question. </p><p>"And what makes you think something is wrong?" He took a large swig of his drink and frowned faintly at the lack of burn. </p><p>"You called Femoor an alcohol wizard and asked him to fuck you up," Quinlan pointed out before snagging the glass. "So what's wrong? Not that I am against you getting drunk and jumping me the second we get to bed."</p><p>Obi-Wan snorted before resting a hand on his boyfriend's knee. "It is just a lot, I suppose. I mean the show is soon and I fear Satine is going to come after you." Fingers laced with his and he glanced up at Quinlan. He had just thrown quite a bit of information at the man. "Oh, and my phone just keeps going off."</p><p>Quinlan snorted hard before downing the schnapps. Obi-Wan made a sound of protest that was cut off by a quick kiss. </p><p>"The show is soon, you aren't wrong, but I fully plan on staying moved in after it ends." That was both comforting and terrifying. They were in a very serious relationship and he still wasn't entirely sure how this had happened, not that he had any complaints. Living with Quinlan was just natural at this point. "Satine can try, I will destroy her-"</p><p>"Quin," he interrupted and tugged at their joined hands. "Satine is just...misguided." The look he got from the other man let him know just how his words were received. Quin thought it was bullshit.</p><p>"Obes, your mine. She can back up or deal with me being angry."</p><p>Well, so much for trying to deal with things rationally. </p><p>"Grandfather has decided to visit-" It sounded like something fell elsewhere in the house."He wants to meet you." Yes, he was using that bit of news as a means to end the conversation about Satine. He didn't have enough alcohol in him to deal with stopping his boyfriend from going after the woman irrationally infatuated with him.</p><p>"We can face your Grandfather together. He is gonna love me, I'm a fucking delight." Obi-Wan snorted hard at that. He was relieved the tactic had worked. The sound of something falling was louder now and they both tensed. He shifted enough to glance towards the doorway while narrowing his eyes. There was actually enough alcohol in him for him to come up with a brilliant scientific plan. Only one way to put his hypothesis to the test.</p><p>"Grandfather is visiting," he said slowly and ignored the strange look he was getting to Quinlan.</p><p>Nothing happened. </p><p>He started to relax and then the smoke alarms began singing. Obi-Wan swore, Quinlan looked furious, and then he started hearing the various occupants of the Concord Dawn yelling. Maybe the place was haunted after all? That or the universe really just wanted to fuck with him for no reason. That or his building was actually on fire.</p><p>"Fuck," he pushed himself off the couch and made a beeline towards the basement. He was suddenly grateful he wasn't fully blitzed yet, otherwise the flashing lights would have sent him sprawling. His building was like a shitty rave now. All pulsing strobe, no music. Quinlan was right behind him and he nearly got the man in the side with his elbow when he flung the basement door open. A sense of unease slammed into him, but he shoved that aside. It was just a basement. An innocent basement. He flicked the light on and wasted no time running down the old wooden stairs. They creaked and groaned and he had the paranoid thought something was going to grab his ankle as he descended. </p><p>Kriff, he hated the basement. </p><p>Obi-Wan tried to keep his gaze focused solely on the fire alarm panel as he crossed the room. There were things in the shadows. He had drank too much. There was nothing in the shadows. </p><p>He yanked his keys out and fumbled for a moment before finding the small key that went to the yelling fire alarm system. He yanked the door open and swore.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"There's no fucking alarm." The horn strobes were simply just going off. Obi-Wan clenched his jaw as he hit the acknowledge button before pressing his finger against the alarm silence one. It asked for a password. What was the stupid password? He stared and then finally managed to get the proper four digits inputted. The wailing cut off mid screech, letting a painful silence descend around them. His ears were ringing. </p><p>He had a pounding headache now.</p><p>"Obes," Anakin yelled down the stairs. "The doors won't reset."</p><p>He swore and sent a silent prayer before punching the reset key. The system shuddered and finally started to reboot. </p><p>"Try it now," he yelled back. He glanced towards one of the red strobes on the wall and waited for it to start going off again. The system chipped to life and the strobe didn't. "Oh, thank fuck." He rubbed his face with a hand as he tried to get the pounding in his chest to stop.</p><p>His ears and eyes really couldn't have survived much more of that.</p><p>There was a long pause and then Anakin was yelling again. "That worked!"</p><p>"This would have been the perfect time to be filming," Quinlan groaned before leaning against his back. Obi-Wan grunted in annoyance at the sudden weight. Personal space clearly wasn't a thing for them now. Though, he had to admit, the action had calmed him down way more than he wanted to admit. "What are you doing now?"</p><p>"Looking for the number of the company to call. Clearly this malfunctioned and I need someone to come in and look at it-"</p><p>"Or the ghost is pissed grandpa is coming to visit," Quin sang out in a teasing tone.</p><p>"Funny. Got it." He quickly snapped a picture of the sticker with his phone. He'd call in the morning so he didn't have to pay ridiculous emergency rates. "Come on," he twisted just enough to shove his boyfriend back towards the stairs. "We need to go help reset the doors."</p><p>"Aye, aye, boss," Quinlan snickered before moving to go do as told.</p><p>Obi-Wan cast a glance over his shoulder as they began to climb the stairs and for a moment, a brief moment, he thought he saw someone staring back at him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Love you all!! Hope you are all staying healthy and safe &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Obi-Wan stared blankly at the cup of coffee in his hand before he set his gaze on the bowl of cereal in front of him. In an instant, he felt guilt at the thought that had danced through his mind. Pouring coffee into the bowl would sacrilege. </p><p>“Earth to Obes,” Anakin said loudly while waving a hand in front of his face. Ah, he had zoned out. He blinked and gave his brother an unimpressed look before shifting his gaze pointedly to the seat Anakin was supposed to be sitting on. “Quin keeping you up all night long, huh?” The eyebrow waggle really sold that remark.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A mild break from honking to post to one of my more <i>serious</i> stories. </p><p>I realize my updating is all over the place and I apologize. My mind is racing and I find it hard to focus on things, which I am sure a lot of you can understand. ...hopefully, this chapter makes sense T_T</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were these nightmares, he wasn’t sure what else to call them, but nightmares worked. They twisted through his mind, pulling forth emotions he hadn’t been aware he could feel, and they always left an aftertaste of fear behind. The unease coated his mouth each time he woke up. Sometimes he was chasing after his older brother, hands stretching towards the back that was running away from him. Strands of hair just brushing his fingertips, but never enough for him to latch on and stop him from leaving him behind. Other times he was watching his older brother fall. Fall, fall, fall, right into a pulsing darkness that terrified him. He always jolted awake before he could actually see his brother vanish. Each and every time he woke up, Quin seemed to rouse from sleep. Confused, cautious, but always comforting. That was nice, to have someone to wake up to, but had him wondering if he was dreaming now because he had Quinlan.</p><p>He couldn’t recall having dreams before this. </p><p>Correction, he didn’t recall having dreams like this before Quinlan Vos moved in.</p><p>Obi-Wan stared blankly at the cup of coffee in his hand before he set his gaze on the bowl of cereal in front of him. In an instant, he felt guilt at the thought that had danced through his mind. Pouring coffee into the bowl would sacrilege. </p><p>“Earth to Obes,” Anakin said loudly while waving a hand in front of his face. Ah, he had zoned out. He blinked and gave his brother an unimpressed look before shifting his gaze pointedly to the seat Anakin was supposed to be sitting on. “Quin keeping you up all night long, huh?” The eyebrow waggle really sold that remark.</p><p>“Hilarious,” he said with a sigh. “I’ve just been having trouble sleeping and, no, it isn’t because of Quin. Please stop focusing on my sex life.”</p><p>Anakin made a face at him, clearly not getting the answer he really wanted, before moving to sit back down in his chair before he faceplanted on the table. Honestly, it was a small wonder his brother hadn’t rebroken his arm with the stunts he pulled. Obi-Wan pursed his lips for a moment before taking a swig of his coffee. The liquid scalded his tongue and pushed him to a more aware state. He should have poured it in the cereal.</p><p>“Where is everyone anyway,” he asked as he lowered the mug to the table. He cradled it between his hands and just let the warmth seep into his flesh. Instant comfort.</p><p>“Sleeping, I guess the medium shows up today and they want to stay up late. Cody said something about naps.” </p><p>Medium? What medium- oh. Asajj. Great, there was going to be yet another person in his home. He wasn’t looking forward to yet more chaos going on, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped. Slowly, and a bit belatedly, he realized that things might actually get a tad dramatic inside the Concord Dawn. Well, more dramatic. Things were already pretty dramatic considering. Hadn’t Quin mentioned Feemor and Asajj being a couple? Hadn’t Cody said they were broken up?</p><p>“Fuck,” he breathed out suddenly. Anakin’s eyes widened at the seemingly random outburst. </p><p>“Language...I think?” </p><p>Obi-Wan snorted and waved a hand through the air to dismiss the concerns. “Sorry. Just thinking about the soon to be romantic drama.”</p><p>“Oh, you mean like how my whole school knows about you and Quinan at this point?”</p><p>There was an actual delay before his head whipped up to stare at his brother. “I beg your pardon, what now?”</p><p>“Dude, everyone is gossiping. They are all going to tune into the show. You are stupid famous now. Ms. Kryze has been kinda depressed, which kinda sucks since we are forced to read all these horrible romance stories where everyone dies, but I guess it is better than reading sappy love stories where everyone lives?”</p><p>Obi-Wan stared at his brother as if the boy had grown two heads. What? He really wasn’t awake enough for this. At what point were stories where everyone died better than the ones where everyone lived happily after? Shit, was he accidentally a romantic? </p><p>“I don’t… I am not even sure how to unpack that. It is far too early for this.”</p><p>‘Listen, we are only up because you said we needed to go shopping today. Tomorrow is Halloween and the show and we need to get the shit to make mini pies.”</p><p>“Language.”</p><p>Right. He had wanted to make hand pies. Treats to keep energy going while keeping hands warm. Now he felt a little foolish about having that idea. What if they didn’t want hand pies? He supposed he was being ridiculous, he could make the pies and they could eat them or not. Really, at this point, he just needed something to keep his hands busy that didn’t involve complicated thoughts. </p><p>“Anaki-” His words were interrupted by the sound of a door slamming elsewhere in the Bed and Breakfast. The timing made tiny goosebumps erupt on his arms and it was clear lack of sleep was making him paranoid. The reaction, at least he thought, was unwarranted. He blinked before glancing towards the kitchen doorway and waited for Quin or someone to walk through.</p><p>“That...was weird,” Ani said after a few moments had passed and no one appeared. “Hey, Obes,” his brother glanced towards him again. “Have you noticed that things seem to be… picking up? I mean like haunting wise.”</p><p>“We aren’t haunted.”</p><p>“You got pushed off a ladder!” Anakin waved his hands wildly in the air as his voice rose. Obi-Wan had to admit the ladder thing had really been the start of things turning a tad dangerous, but he had hardly been pushed. </p><p>“I fell. Must have misstepped,” he said easily more for his own comfort than Anakin’s.</p><p>“What about the fire alarm-”</p><p>“A mere malfunction. They said it was probably a wiring issue and are drafting up a quote to run new wiring. It is ancient, Ani. They even plan on drafting up a quote for a whole new system, just in case. Once it is replaced then it shouldn’t happen again.” His brother looked like he didn’t believe a word coming out of his mouth. Yeah, he wasn’t exactly believing it either. Something was wrong with the house and he was coming around to the fact it wasn’t exactly all mechanical. There were things that happened that couldn’t be explained away by faulty wiring or loose connections. There were things going on that were just downright disturbing. </p><p>Yes, sheer lack of sleep was making him paranoid.</p><p>As if listening to his musing the sound of a door slamming shut echoed through the doorway. He tightened his fingers around the mug and frowned deeply.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>Asajj was an interesting person, that was all Obi-Wan could think. She was closer to what he had imagined ghost hunters looking like, what with her pale flesh and black lips. Asajj exuded goth punk with a healthy helping of pastel. The suggestive smile she gave him in front of Feemor had left him flustered. Feemor had simply sighed before introducing them.<p>“This is Obi-Wan, Quinlan’s boyfriend, and the innkeeper.”</p><p>“A pity, I thought Quin was merely messing around with that Instagram post,” Asajj practically purred while holding her hand out for a proper welcome. Obi-Wan accepted the hand and shook only as long as it was polite. This was not the best meeting, not when her fingers seemed to cling to his hand as he tried to let go. </p><p>“He wasn’t. We are very committed,” he said with a faint smile. He may have shoved his hands into the pockets of the hoodie he had stolen from Quinlan, but it certainly wasn’t because he didn’t want to have his hand trapped again. No, his hands were simply cold.  “Now, I hear you are for the show?”</p><p>She pouted, the type of over-exaggerated pout he normally associated with the ridiculous teen drama shows Ani watched when he thought he wasn’t paying attention. She seemed to give up on that tactic after a moment, most likely because he just gave her a blank look in return. “I am. I can sense the dead and I guess they decided it was time to call in a real expert. I must admit I am not exactly looking forward to being on live TV, but what can I do? I don’t suppose you have a room set aside with great lighting for me? I need to make sure my makeup is fierce.”</p><p>Obi-Wan blinked. </p><p>Feemor snorted. </p><p>Asajj merely pouted again before following after her ex-boyfriend when he started walking away. Ah, it seemed Feemor knew what room she was supposed to be in. He’d have to thank Siri for getting things set up because he certainly hadn’t. If Obi-Wan was honest he would have to admit he felt like he was drained. The exhaustion was soul-deep at this point. All he wanted to do was sit down in the hallway and rest his eyes for a moment. </p><p>“Obes,” Quinlan’s voice bounced down the hall a moment before the man was speed walking towards him. Something eased inside of his chest when he saw his boyfriend. The exhaustion almost eased up slightly, at least enough that he could smile with actual happiness. “Can we set up a command center outside? Large tent. I was thinking about the back parking area? We can move our cars out of the way and…”</p><p>“I can park out front as well,” he said softly. Why did they need a tent? “I thought you had a command center inside? Did I miss something?” He was starting to worry that his lack of rest was affecting his memory.</p><p>“Change of plans. Since it is a live show there will be more wires and shit. Plus, extra camera people. I guess the network is sending someone to do live tweeting- uh, answer tweets live on the air. We need plenty of room now and I know it will be colder than Hell out there, but I don’t want to take up space we could be using for investigation.”</p><p>That...made sense. He felt relief wash over him when he realized he had not forgotten this change of plans. He wasn’t losing his mind after all thanks to his dreams.</p><p>Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead slightly as he nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. Will the network be providing generators or are you leeching my power?”</p><p>“Generators, don’t worry. Lights, tables, etc. They have us covered.”</p><p>“The neighbors are going to hate me.”</p><p>Quinlan snickered before a faint look of concern appeared on his face. “Hey, are you okay? No offense, babe, but you seem a bit...out of it.” </p><p>“I’m just tired. I haven’t exactly been sleeping well.”</p><p>“I noticed,” Quinlan moved closer and grabbed one of his hands. Instant comfort. Obi-Wan leaned towards him without thinking, rather like he was seeking out warmth, and twisted his fingers so they ended up tangled up in Quin’s. “You keep waking up all freaked out. What is going on?”</p><p>Obi-Wan stared at him, studying his face for a moment as he tried to sort out what he wanted to say. How much did he tell the con artist? Would it end up mentioned in the show? That wasn’t a fair thought to have, and he knew it. If he asked, then Quin wouldn’t put what he was about to say on the show. A part of his mind whispered that he didn’t even need to ask. “I’m having ...these dreams. They are strange and my brother is in them-”</p><p>“Ani?”</p><p>“No, Xanatos. He is always running from me, just out of my reach, or he is falling into this darkness. It...stays with me when I wake up.” He frowned at the look of concern that grew stronger on Quin’s face. Oh, that was not the reaction he was expecting. </p><p>“Shit. Since when?”</p><p>“Uh, since you moved in? Into my room, not-” He swore softly and forced himself to stop the tired rambling. “I mean they’ve been growing steadier since we started sharing a bed.”</p><p>“But I put the- That… come on, we need to go talk to Asajj.” Obi-Wan let out a sound of protest as he suddenly found himself dragged down the hall by the hand. What had Quinlan been trying to say? The chopped up and aborted sentence made no sense to him and now they were rushing towards the woman who looked at him like prey.</p><p>“Quin-”</p><p>“Just trust me, okay? Those dreams aren’t a good thing and Asajj can help.”</p><p>“I don’t want this on the show,” he said in an attempt to stop this current scenario from playing out. Instantly he knew his mistake and cursed himself mentally. Quinlan stopped walking before the remark had even finished leaving his mouth and whirled on him. A sound of surprise escaped him as his back hit the wall and he found himself transfixed by a pair of molten eyes. He had never seen Quin look so angry. </p><p>“Fuck off, Obes. This has nothing to do with the show! I know you are refusing to believe this shit is real, but it is, and those dreams-” Quinlan moved closer, invading his personal space to the point he was positive they were sharing the same breath. “-Are bad fucking news. Asajj is an actual witch and she can give you a charm to ward them off. You are so goddamn tired because of your dreams. Whatever is in this house is messing with you.”</p><p>That was ridiculous. </p><p>He was exhausted because he kept waking up! </p><p>Though… maybe he was being haunted? </p><p>“Qui- hnngh,” the words were devoured by a painful kiss. Anger and hurt lashed against him and he shifted at once, throwing his arms around Quinlan, shoving as much of an apology as he could into the kiss. “I’m sorry,” he said as he pulled away finally. “I didn’t- I know you would never-”</p><p>“I know, I know. I’m just worried. I want the bad things happening to you to stop and I want you to get some sleep so you stop being so…”</p><p>“Moody?” His lips curled into the faintest of smiles.</p><p>“Yes, that. Jesus, Obes, I’m waiting for you to burst out crying while we are watching that serial killer documentary- ow, hey, I was joking!” Quinlan rubbed his upper arm with a look of amusement on his face. Obi-Wan hadn’t smacked him that hard. Such a con artist. </p><p>“Come on, take me to see Asajj. If she can help me like you said then I plan on having a nice long nap… if I am tired enough.”</p><p>“Oh, trust me, I can make sure you are tired.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OooOoooOOoo what is messing with Obes' dreams? Is he finally coming around to the haunting? Will he just stop believing once he gets a freaking nap?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Concord Dawn was getting more publicity via word of mouth and thanks to the whole show coming up. People were booking out rooms months in advance now, something he hadn’t seen since his childhood. Bed and Breakfasts had gone out of style for a bit, but now it was making a comeback. Anakin had been chattering about how pretty much every person at his school was going to tune in for the live show. Oh dear, Obi-Wan suddenly thought, was the place tidy?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I started watching my cheesy holiday movies again today and finally got hit with the words needed to finish this episode T_T </p><p>This one deals with some thoughts, some fluff, and ghosts?</p><p>ALSO IF YOU HAVEN'T- CHECK OUT THIS <a href="https://unpheenix.tumblr.com/post/635323772716597248/fwakes31-suggested-a-couple-different-fanfics">AMAZING ART</a>. I JUST- I LOVE IT.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>It occurred to me that if I were a ghost, this ambiance was what I'd miss most: the ordinary, day-to-day bustle of the living. Ghosts long, I'm sure, for the stupidest, most unremarkable things.<br/>
― Banana Yoshimoto</p>
  <p>☆☆☆</p>
</div>The leather bracelet felt weird and he wasn’t ashamed to admit he still wasn’t used to wearing the piece of jewelry. In his defense, of course, he had not been wearing the thing very long. Adjusting to the sudden weight and sensation was slow going. The dark chocolate color was braided together and held an intricate-looking charm of silver and emerald. The style of the charm reminded him of something, he just couldn’t quite recall what. It was something he had seen recently, he was sure, but the memory stayed just outside of his reaching grasp. Obi-Wan ran a finger between the band and his wrist and paused when he realized Quinlan was watching him intently. His cheeks flushed instantly.<p>“What?”</p><p>“If you keep playing with it then it is going to break.” Fingers grabbed his and yanked them hard. Obi-Wan let out a sound of annoyance, but let himself be tugged into his boyfriend’s arms. “Asajj said you have to keep that one to stop the dreams, remember?”</p><p>“It itches,” he knew he sounded like a sullen child. Ani had survived with a cast encircling his arm and he was here whining about a leather bracelet. The thing did itch with how stiff it was. Maybe he could soak his wrist later in an attempt to soften the leather?</p><p>“Let’s see if I can’t distract you from the itch for a bit,” Quinlan said while a truly devious look appeared on his face. The way his eyes lit up made Obi-Wan’s skip a beat. Kriff, he wanted to do inappropriate things to see that look again. “I want to see if we can break our mattress.” </p><p>Obi-Wan smacked the man hard in the shoulder. Quin was somehow the worst and the best and it was becoming painfully obvious that he didn’t want the other out of his life. “As tempting as that is,” he said dryly, “don’t you have to see to all the arriving equipment?” </p><p>They needed to behave, as much as it pained him.</p><p>A groan escaped Quin before he pressed a kiss to Obi-Wan’s temple. “I do, sadly. Can you leave that alone while I’m busy?” That earned a snort. He wasn’t a child, he could manage to not play with the bracelet. Maybe. </p><p>“Go, I’ll restrain myself somehow. I have things I need to do for my own job anyway.” A smile tugged at his lips before he forcefully turned Quin around and shoved him towards the door. “Go, go. I’ll be here when you get back. I promise.” His smile only grew as his boyfriend actually did as ordered. That was a tad of a rarity, he mused, and he wasn’t going to forget the moment. Once his office was free of Quinlan he moved back to his desk to actually attempt at doing his job, a job that was strangely getting busier. The Concord Dawn was getting more publicity via word of mouth and thanks to the whole show coming up. People were booking out rooms months in advance now, something he hadn’t seen since his childhood. Bed and Breakfasts had gone out of style for a bit, but now it was making a comeback. Anakin had been chattering about how pretty much every person at his school was going to tune in for the live show. Oh dear, Obi-Wan suddenly thought, was the place tidy? </p><p>Was it camera ready?</p><p>“Why am I thinking about that,” he asked his laptop as if it could honestly answer. “I need more sleep…” He tapped his fingers against the edge of the laptop as he debated actually going to take a nap. The idea of sleep without haunting nightmares sounded intoxicating. He cast his gaze towards the small sofa in his office and wondered if a quick nap was worth the backache. It was his phone pinging that settled the matter. A quick glance at the message from Ani saying he wanted to bring friends to the liveshow made him realize he was going to need lots of sleep in order to face the coming night. Obi-Wan shut the laptop, glanced down at his bracelet, and chuckled softly at himself. Sweet Force, he hadn’t taken a nap during the day since he was a child.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>“WAKE UP,” Anakin yelled before landing in a pile on top of his brother. Bony elbow aimed right at a shoulder and so worth the faint spark of pain. The groan mixed with a large quantity of swear words was the first sign Operation Wake Up was a success. “You said we had to get pizza and shi-”<p>“Language, shithead,” Obi-Wan grunted just before shoving his brother off of him. A noisy yell escaped Anakin which was quickly followed by the loud sound of his body hitting the floor. Sometimes his big brother could be so violent, though turnabout was probably fair play. He had just tried to break Obes’ body with his own. His arm ached faintly thanks to the impact, but the doctor had said that was normal. Something about even feeling weather changes? He had kind of tuned that all out. </p><p>“Get up, asshole. You were drooling.” He pushed himself up into a seated position and poked his brother in the arm. “Quin said he wants a slice of you-”</p><p>“He did not,” Obes’ slapped his hand away before finally sitting up fully on the sofa. “He wants pepperoni and banana peppers. I am sure you want your abhorrent ham and pineapple one, with a side of BBQ sauce to dip each bite in.” </p><p>“Uh, duh, that or black olives, bacon, and raaaanch.” Ani could only snicker as Obi-Wan made a noise akin to throwing up. “We can try something new. I’m thinking those salty fish and-” He erupted with laughter thanks to his brother smacking him behind the ear. He stood up, twisting as he went, and grabbed his older brother’s arm. He half-heartedly yanked on said limb and grinned when Obes’ played along, body starting to rise from the sofa. The grin wavered faintly when he caught sight of a strange bracelet. That was very new, and while he approved of Quin and Obes being serious, he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about the fact they were exchanging jewelry. Were they going to get married? Was he going to get shipped off to boarding school finally? </p><p>“Ani,” Obi-Wan’s voice pulled him back to the present, causing him to blink before meeting his brother’s concerned gaze. “Are you quite alright?”</p><p>“Are you getting married,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. </p><p>“I beg your pardon,” Obes’ blurted out just as loud in response. “Where did you get that idea?”</p><p>“I mean you are sharing a room, he gave you jewelry, you kissed him at breakfast- which by the way ruined my eggs. Can’t you just...not,” Anakin waved his free hand in the air as he listed all the reasons he thought someone got married. “He has a show to run, Obes! I don’t want to go to boarding school!” He knew his face was getting hot with emotion, but he hadn’t quite meant to go into one of his random outbursts. He never meant to, they just happened. “Or what if Quin just leaves? The show ends tonight! He could leave us-”</p><p>“Breath, Ani, no one is sending you to boarding school, even if you eat gross pizza,” Obi-Wan said in a soothing tone while yanking on his arm so he tumbled forward. Ani made a face just before he found himself in an awkward embrace. “Quin and I aren’t doing anything, besides dating at the moment. If for some reason I lose all sense and marry the man, you can stay and I am sure he will continue to fleece viewers into thinking ghosts are real. Also, I doubt he is just going to up and leave right after the show ends.” </p><p>Anakin sank into his brother and breathed in time to his brother’s breaths. He had been afraid, he realized, since Obes had come back, and that fear revolved around losing his brother again. Losing people he cared about. The show, the haunting, all of that, was a nice distraction, but it didn’t stop the fear from festering inside of his mind. He knew that Obes didn’t exactly want to run the Concord Dawn and that he probably didn’t want to raise his troublesome little brother. Those thoughts made him think that it was only a matter of time before Obi-Wan walked out to that car and never came back. Maybe he’d run off with Quinlan or maybe he’d just run. </p><p>“Anakin, I can see you thinking. Listen to me, please, I am working on a way so that we stay like this. I’m going to do online courses and still run the Bed and Breakfast, I promise.” Anakin made a face but settled down. It was always eerie how Obes knew just what to say, but he appreciated the words at that moment. He shifted just enough to rest his head on his brother’s shoulder and stared at the photos of their family. </p><p>“Do you think dad is haunting us,” he asked softly as a bit of a topic change. Talking about feelings always made him beyond uncomfortable. Obi-Wan made a faint sound of distress before carding fingers through Ani’s air. The feeling was calming as always and he knew it was partly to help keep his older brother grounded. Distracted.</p><p>“I think...if father was haunting us then he wouldn’t have shoved me off a ladder,” Obes finally said in a slightly teasing tone. Anakin snorted in agreement. Yeah, their dad wouldn’t try to kill them. </p><p>“So who is haunting us-”</p><p>“We aren’t being haunted!”</p><p>A snicker escaped him before he could stop himself. They were so being haunted and it was getting ridiculous at how much Obes was denying the fact. Quinlan really had his work cut out for him, Ani was rooting for him he decided.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>°</p>
</div>It was fucking cold out.<p>Obi-Wan moved a little closer to Quin in an attempt to steal his warmth and did his best to ignore the smug looks from everyone around them. The cameras were going to turn on soon and that was when he planned on running. He knew he had to give an interview or two, but hopefully, that meant he wouldn’t be on the show that much. </p><p>He wanted to just curl up in his bed with a mug of tea and a book.</p><p>“They’ll get the heat lamps set up soon,” Quin informed him with a smirk. His boyfriend took pity, or wanted more attention because the next moment there was an arm around his shoulders. He hid a smile behind the gesture of blowing into his cupped hands to warm them. He could hear a few cellphone cameras going off and got the faint impression many social media accounts would be updated in the next few moments. Dating Quin put him right in the limelight. He should probably expect another call from his Grandfather soon, which he oddly didn’t fear. Grandfather had been oddly supportive, was still being so in fact, and he wasn’t entirely sure what to think. Who was Grandfather planning on bringing to the Bed and Breakfast? Why was he finally visiting again after all these years? </p><p>“I’m fine, thank you. Do you think I need to start coffee or-” Obi-Wan’s words died as Quin stole a quick kiss. Ah, well, he supposed coffee could wait. </p><p>“You are acting nervous,” Quinlan said with the faintest of grins. “Babe, you’ll be fine. The world of paranormal fans is going to love you. Look, I promise I won’t embarrass you on live television.”</p><p>“That is hardly what I was worrying about, but perhaps I should rethink my worries?” Obi-Wan bit back a yawn while attempting to fix Quin with a look. The ghost host merely smirked while shrugging. Oh, yes, he really was going to need to worry about Quin it seemed. His emotions betrayed his thoughts and he felt his heart soar for a second. That was unsettling. When had he grown so attached to Quinlan- well no, he knew he was attached, but when had he gotten to the point where he was echoing Anakin’s fears in his mind? Would Quinlan leave when the show was over? Was this a mere fling? </p><p>He didn’t think it was.</p><p>He hoped it wasn’t. </p><p>“Are you planning on staying long enough to meet my Grandfather,” he questioned in a near whisper. Quinlan raised an eyebrow and leaned closer before giving an answer most likely to ensure no one was listening closely to them. </p><p>“Obes, what part of me moving into <i>our</i> room did you not understand? I might travel for work, but you are fucking stuck with me,” his voice dropped an octave and Obi-Wan knew his cheeks were turning a fascinating shade of crimson. </p><p>“Ah,” he said intelligently. “Well, good. Traveling is fine, I mean I’ll need breaks from you and your fake ghosts.” He barely had time to react before Quin was rubbing his freezing nose just below his ear. Obi-Wan yelped and promptly tried to free himself from underneath the arm of his rude partner. Why did he put up with such a person?</p><p>Why did he care about him again?</p><p>“Ewww,” Anakin shouted from between his hands and the rest of the crew promptly burst out laughing. Asajj merely smirked while crossing her arms over her chest. She seemed less than impressed by their public displays of affection. He appreciated the bracelet she had given him, but he still wasn’t sure what she actually thought of him. Not that he particularly cared, he had other things to worry about. Someone else could figure her out for all he cared. </p><p>“Let’s just get this over with, I want to actually get some sleep tonight,” he grumbled. “This isn’t filming all night, right?”</p><p>“Nah, we will stop around 4 am.” That was obscenely late. Obi-Wan hadn’t stayed up that late on purpose since last year when he had been studying for finals. </p><p>“...pardon?”</p><p>“I’m joking? The live show starts at 10 pm and then we will stop at midnight. We don’t normally do two-hour specials, but we have footage to add in from our stay here and the network is a fan. They said if we get a lot of views then we should consider a follow-up episode- I mean if you are okay with that?”</p><p>“I see. Well, if that happens, you might actually need to work around this place actually having guests,” Obi-Wan said with a faint smirk. “But, yes, I suppose I am okay with that.”</p><p>“You should market this place as a place where one might catch a sighting of my rocking bod- oof.” Quinlan winced as Obi-Wan’s elbow hit him in the side. “What I meant was, my face is good for business?” </p><p>“Really? I don’t see the appeal.” He actually burst out laughing as Quinlan gave him a hurt look before trying to pull him into a hug. He could sense their friends watching them and, for once, didn’t actually care. </p><p>“Please stop, my virgin eyes can’t handle much more,” Anakin cried out in horror. Cody and Rex shared a look before simply each grabbing one of his little brother’s arms and dragging him off towards the backdoor of the Concord Dawn. </p><p>Obi-Wan didn’t want this moment to end and it hurt his heart to think it might.</p><p>He realized, with a feeling of falling, that he loved Quinlan. He had loved the man since the moment they had met all those years ago and he had run from that love. Maybe it was time to stop running and actually tell the other?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>GASP! Next chapter is parts of the live show??? This is drawing to an end, me thinks, unless I keep this going and just go onto the next batch of cheesy holiday movies?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. NOT A CHAPTER- A PSA</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Okay.</p><p>I had this idea and some people seemed keen on it, so I am throwing this out there. </p><p>If you'd like a question answered in the fic please submit it in the comments below. These would be questions for Ghost Sensors, for Obes or Ani, or anything random. The next chapter is the Live Show and I thought you all might like to see some of your own questions!</p><p>E.g.</p><p><b>IronHoshi</b>: ...why do they seem to survive on pizza only? Does the garlic in the sauce ward of bad spirits?</p><p>If you also just want to ask me a question, do it up! </p><p>Sorry this isn't a chapter 💜</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Feemor passed over the tablet to Quin and Obi couldn't resist reading over his shoulder. His cheeks flushed instantly. </p><p>"Why are there so many questions about me?" That was unsettling. The questions seemed to be a mixture about him and then about the Concord Dawn. There was a small smattering of others, but each question about him made him frown.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This took a long time. Whoops. I am hoping you enjoy how I wove the questions you all gave me into this story. Getting it to flow right was fun and challenging. </p><p>Thank you to everyone who submitted a question.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <em>“Ghosts don't haunt us. That's not how it works. They're present among us because we won't let go of them."</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>"I don't believe in ghosts," I said, faintly.</em>
  </p>
  <p><em>"Some people can't see the color red. That doesn't mean it isn't there," she replied.</em><br/>-Sue Grafton</p>
  <p>
    <b>☆☆☆</b>
  </p>
</div><p> </p><p>The lights were bright and Obi-Wan was trying hard not to hide behind Quinlan. The camera crew and network employees had all been pleasant so far, though part of that probably had to do with the small pies and pizza. Food tended to win people over. He sighed as he glanced down at the travel mug of cocoa in his hands. The addition of bourbon would have been lovely, but he had to wait. No point in getting sloshed while on national television. Also, no reason to even think about the fact he was about to be on national television. Anakin was wilting slightly, the excitement getting to him it seemed. The teenager was leaning against Rex while fighting off yawns. Obi felt for him. The cameras, the constant chatter, it was overwhelming. He was both energized and exhausted.</p><p>"Hey," Quin stage whispered. "You don't have to answer any of the questions."</p><p>He made a faint sound of acknowledgment before taking a swig of his hot chocolate.</p><p>Feemor passed over the tablet to Quin and Obi couldn't resist reading over his shoulder. His cheeks flushed instantly. Well, that had been a mistake.</p><p>"Why are there so many questions about me?" That was just unsettling. The questions seemed to be a mixture about him and then about the Concord Dawn. There was a small smattering of others, but each question about him made him frown. Logically he knew the show was in his place of business so the questions would reflect that. The illogical part of him almost felt like it was an invasion of privacy. Dating Quin had thrust him straight into a spotlight he hadn't fully been expecting, but he knew he wouldn't have done it any differently.</p><p>"Cause you are worth asking questions about?" Quin pressed a kiss to his temple and Obi-Wan couldn't help pulling a face. "Oi!”</p><p>Someone informed everyone that they were going live in five and then a countdown started. Obi-Wan glanced towards his home, eyeing the attic window. A part of him did wonder if the place was haunted. As a child, he had believed that there was something in the Bed and Breakfast, but Xanatos had teased him mercilessly. Xan had been the one to glance under his bed or throw open his closet door to prove no ghosts were hiding. The day his older brother passed away was the day he stopped believing altogether. The building had always had strange little creaking noises, but it had never been quite as noisy as when he first returned after his father’s passing.</p><p>It wasn't haunted. Just old. Yeah, that was right.</p><p>“I want this one,” Rex suddenly cried, yanking Obi-Wan from his musings. “ColorMeWind asks what our scariest haunt was and why did the owners finally reach out?”</p><p>Oh, dear. Obi-Wan cast a glance towards the blonde and sent a silent prayer that the answer wasn’t going to be embarrassing.</p><p>“Scariest haunt would definitely have to be the Warwick Correctional!” Several of the investigators agreed. Obi-Wan wasn't overly familiar with the place. The unwanted thought that maybe he should watch the show entered his mind. Quin would never let him live it down. Though, he mused, he could binge the show while the group was out on a new investigation. An arm around him tightened a mere moment before Rex struck with his words, stopping his musing. “Quin said Obi’s little brother reached out and then he fished for info-oof!” Cody had successfully elbowed his twin in the side to stop the further flow of words.</p><p>“They reached out because things had escalated after they took over from their deceased father,” Cody bit out with a stern look directed at Rex.</p><p>Obi-Wan wanted to hide.</p><p>Feemor snagged the tablet and took a moment to read some of the questions. "Ashetreemeadow wants to know how long Obi-Wan's family has owned this place and when did they notice the haunting?"</p><p>Quin glanced down at him and raised an eyebrow. Actually, everyone was looking at him, he realized. Damn. So much for not having to answer questions.</p><p>"Ah, it has been in my family for generations… my Great-Great, uh, Great Grandfather and his partner founded the place," he said softly.</p><p>"And the haunting?" Feemor raised an eyebrow and motioned with his hand for Obi-Wan to continue.</p><p>"It isn't haun-"</p><p>"Since before I was born," Anakin blurted out. "Obes used to tell stories about how there were watching eyes in the basement when we were younger!"</p><p>"Anakin, please!"</p><p>Quinlan chuckled lowly near his ear. Obi-Wan pressed a hand to his lower face and prayed that his face wasn't flushing violently. The heat in his ears let him know that his prayers were fruitless.</p><p>"You are going to have to put up with this since you live here now, jerk." Quin pressed yet another kiss to his temple while humming. The sound of messages arriving on the tablet ticked up. Oh, crap. That had been on live television. His phone started vibrating in his pocket. His friends were definitely texting him now. "Shouldn't you go back to investigating?"</p><p>Rex turned a laugh into a cough, Cody merely smirked.</p><p>"Alright," Feemor said loudly. "Time to earn our paychecks." The tablet was handed back to Quin and Obi-Wan thought he saw a faint blush on the other's face. What was Feemor so worried about? Quin glanced at the tablet and then threw a hand up. Everyone froze. Obi-Wan knew whatever that was about to happen couldn't be good. Poor Feemor, he was guessing.</p><p>"One more question and then we send the medium and Cody in together." Feemor tensed at the words and Quinlan just smiled like a shark. Oh, dear. "MrGhostWhisperer, love the name, by the way, wants to know-How is it working with your ex, Feemor? Also, what was it like dating a medium?"</p><p>"I swear if that was you-" Feemor's words were stopped by a pale hand on his upper arm.</p><p>"He loved it. I won every argument, also anything else regarding our relationship is private," Asajj drawled out. Her talon-like nails dug into the sleeve of Feemor's peacoat. Glistening blood red against the deep navy. A contrast that Obi-Wan pause for some reason. How strange.</p><p>Shortly after that Asajj, Feemor, and Cody all vanished into the Concord Dawn. The investigation was on and the live show had shifted to follow them, thankfully. Obi-Wan found himself sitting on one of the metal folding chairs in front of the various monitors. The cold seemed to be amplified thanks to the chair and his jeans did nothing to stop the sensation from seeping into his backside. He wanted a blanket or five.</p><p>“So how does this work?” Anakin sat with a leg bouncing, energy clearly coming back for the moment.</p><p>“We watch the monitors and answer the radios. At some point the live feed will go back to us,” Rex explained easily while toying with a laptop in front of him. “If you want you can put on one of the headsets and listen to them talk.”</p><p>Anakin pulled a face. Ah, sitting still and listening? Yeah, not his little brother’s strong suit.</p><p>“Honestly,” Quinlan said while dropping down into the seat next to him, a cup of steaming liquid held out towards him. The whiff he got let him know it was hot chocolate with something else in it. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow in question and got a cheeky smirk in response. This was clearly spiked. How had Quin known? “Being out here is the boring part.”</p><p>“Then why aren’t you inside?” Obi-Wan wrapped his hands around the cup of alcoholic chocolate and raised an eyebrow in question. Rex snorted hard. Quinlan just fixed him with a look that let him know the answer to that one. That was, of course, the moment Padmé reappeared. She juggled a few plates of pizza slices and went about setting them in front of each of them.</p><p>How had she known which one they each liked? Better yet, how had she gotten right?</p><p>Were they all that close now? Obi-Wan frowned and glanced down at his drink.</p><p>A small part of him never wanted them to leave and he wasn't sure how he felt about that thought.</p><p>“I think it is romantic,” Padmé remarked while basically tossing the plate down in front of Rex. A sort of amused affectionate glance escaped the man before he reached out to yank her into his lap. A tiny sound of annoyance escaped her, but she wrapped her arms around Rex’s shoulders easily enough. “He is forgoing investigating just so he can sit next to you. Your story is perfect for a Hallmark movie!”</p><p>Obi-Wan decided it was the perfect time to take a large bite of pizza so he had an excuse not to partake in this conversation. The conversation did flow around him and, eventually, Anakin moved to sit somewhere else while Padmé took the now vacant seat.</p><p>“Back to us in a few,” someone stated loudly. Rex shoved the last half of his pizza slice in his mouth, which was an impressive feat, and snagged the tablet. By the time the show was back on them Quinlan was finishing off the crust Obi-Wan had left on his plate. His phone started vibrating nonstop. His friends really needed to go to sleep. Rex positioned himself next to Anakin, gaze focused on the tablet.</p><p>“Read us another one,” Quinlan called out with an amused curl to his words. Heat blossomed in Obi's chest. “I have a good feeling about this next one!” And then, unfortunately, Quin’s friend did as asked.</p><p>"QuinlanBOSS," Rex rolled his eyes hard enough that Obi-Wan felt a sympathy ache in his own eyes. Quin’s fans were something else. Well, at least no one had a ridiculous screen name like Quinlan69ers or something. Actually, he was extra thankful that none of the names so far had anything to do with him. Obi-Wan wasn't sure he would be able to handle that. "Question for the show: This looks like the most haunted of haunted houses.-"</p><p>"Hey, rude," Anakin blurted out from his spot crouching next to a space heater. "This place is a vibe. You just don't get it."</p><p>Rex nudged him with a boot before continuing to read the question.</p><p>"-How has it never been a problem before? And how did Quinlan &amp; co. not find it sooner? I don't know, man this feels like it should've been a season one kind of haunt. Especially since that's Quinlan's adorkable boyfriend, apparently." Rex snorted.</p><p>Adorkable. Obi-Wan wondered if he could just go hide in his car now.</p><p>"I can answer that." Quinlan's chest rumbled behind him and he could feel the amusement radiating from the ghost hunter. "My <em>adorkable</em> boyfriend was busy with college for most of the seasons so I didn't realize this place was extra haunted until recently." Well, at least he wasn't bringing up the fact they hadn't actually talked until recently. He had known from the moment their picture together went out in the wild world of the internet that people would be curious about their relationship, but it still made him flustered. Why were so many people interested in their relationship? They should be worrying about their own lives.</p><p>Rex let out a loud snort of laughter, distracting him from his thoughts, and proceeded to read another question in a very dry tone. “Fives wants to know why we have the Ghostbusters theme on repeat...isn’t it counterproductive to seeing ghosts…”</p><p>Quinlan blinked before laughing. “Wow, I guess I would just say maybe they should turn their music down because that has to be where the song is coming from. Could you imagine the royalties we’d have to pay to have that playing nonstop?”</p><p>Obi-Wan felt a faint smile growing on his face. Ah, that question was more in line with what he had thought might happen. What had Anakin called those types of questions? Trolling or something.</p><p>“I want to read one,” Anakin whined. The late hour was getting to his brother. He could see the glazed look to those normally bright eyes. His brother went through bouts of insomnia, but tonight was clearly not one of the nights where he had boundless energy. The exhaustion was winning; Anakin was going to be extremely surly tomorrow. Obi-Wan couldn’t help wondering if his brother was having those strange nightmares as well. Ani hadn’t said anything, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask Asajj for a bracelet for his younger brother?</p><p>“Calm down, kid,” Rex said in a good-natured way before handing the tablet over.</p><p>Anakin scrolled for a second and blanched. “Gross. Why are they all about Obes? He isn’t that fascinating.”</p><p>“...thank you for that,” Obi-Wan sighed out while everyone else laughed.</p><p>“Welcome. Okay, Ishtar wants to know if Obes is an angel....gross. And where did you find him, Quin?” Anakin’s features screwed up in discomfort before he rushed the next words. “Did it hurt when he fell from Heaven?”</p><p>Rex lost it, covering his mouth with both hands while he laughed hard. Padmé let out a wistful sigh before snagging the tablet from the now rather ill-looking Anakin. Obi-Wan was both amused and horrified.</p><p>“I found him in a bookstore,” Quin stated with a laugh. “And I am not asking that.” Oh, thank fuck.</p><p>“Could we go with a different question?” His voice was thin as he asked and he didn’t care. Anakin had already stated they were all about him now, but he was hoping that his brother exaggerating.</p><p>He learned painfully fast that his request was a mistake. Padmé got a wicked gleam in her eyes before she began to read a new question. “This one is from RiverSpirit and-” She glanced up from the tablet and smiled brilliantly. That wasn’t good. Her joy was clearly going to be his agony. “Can you confirm that Obi-Wan is <em>the</em> OWK that Season 2 had an episode dedicated to?”</p><p>“Yes,” Quinlan offered up easily. Obi-Wan dropped his face into his hands. This was somehow worse.</p><p>“Fantastic,” Padmé said with delight. “We already knew, but the world knows now. Anyway, time for the rest of the question-” Obi-Wan’s muffled groan caused everyone to laugh. “How did you meet? Where has he been all this time? Can he see ghosts too?”</p><p>He really should have suggested they just stop with the questions.</p><p>“This is a ghost hunting show, not a get-to-know the idiot that decided to date Quinlan show,” he grumbled into the palms of his hands.</p><p>“I rather think it can be both.” He could hear the smile in Quin’s voice. “Uh, we meet in a bookstore. Literally ran into each other, books everywhere. He was heading out to his first year of college and just looked so adora-” Obi-Wan elbowed Quin hard in the side. The man let out a hiss of pain and moved onto the next part of the question. “As I said earlier, he has been at school this entire time...he had to put it on hold to come back and be with his brother.”</p><p>The jovial manner of speaking turned a tad more serious. That wasn’t a lie. He shifted slightly in his seat and ignored the pang of hollowness that tried to engulf him. He had put school on hold because his father was dead and he couldn’t let Anakin go live with some stranger. He, also, couldn't let the Concord Dawn leave the family.</p><p>“And...he denies seeing ghosts. He denies ghosts altogether, tries to rationally explain things, but that is part of his charm. I enjoy how much he goes out of his way to not acknowledge the haunting in his own place.”</p><p>“It is because it isn’t haunted-”</p><p>And naturally, that was when Asajj strode over to them with a look on her face he couldn’t translate. “Obi-Wan, Anakin, do the names Palpatine or Xanatos mean anything to you?”</p><p>The world went static.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lowkey, I had debated making this the last chapter...but as you can see, the story continues!! WE HAVE STUFF TO WRAP UP~!</p><p>Hope this was worth the wait. &lt;3</p><p>Love you all.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yep. Feel free to stalk me on tumblr! I like it when people stop by and say hi.</p><p>https://ironhoshi.tumblr.com/</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>